The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Lord Krishna. Facing the duty as a warrior to fight the DharmaYudhha or righteous war between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is counselled by Lord Krishna to "fulfill his Kshatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior and establish Dharma."[4] Inserted[4] in this appeal to kshatriya dharma (chivalry)[5] is "a dialogue ... between diverging attitudes concerning methods toward the attainment of liberation (moksha)".[6] The Bhagavad Gita was exposed to the world through Sanjaya, who senses and cognises all the events of the battlefield.[7] Sanjaya is Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his charioteer.

Numerous commentaries have been written on the Bhagavad Gita with widely differing views on the essentials. Vedanta commentators read varying relations between Self and Brahman in the text: Advaita Vedanta sees the non-dualism of Atman (soul) and Brahman as its essence,[13] whereas Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita see Atman and Brahman as both different and non-different, and Dvaita sees them as different. The setting of the Gita in a battlefield has been interpreted as an allegory for the ethical and moral struggles of the human life.

Theories on the date of composition of the Gita vary considerably. Scholars accept dates from the fifth century to the second century BCE as the probable range. Professor Jeaneane Fowler, in her commentary on the Gita, considers second century BCE to be the likely date of composition.[16] Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, a Gita scholar, on the basis of the estimated dates of Mahabharata, Brahma sutras, and other independent sources, concludes that the Bhagavad Gita was composed in the fifth or fourth century BCE.[17]

It is generally agreed that, "Unlike the Vedas, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the Gita was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style", so the earliest "surviving" components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest "external" references we have to the Mahabharata epic, which may include an allusion in Panini's fourth century BCE grammar. It is estimated that the text probably reached something of a "final form" by the early Gupta period (about the 4th century CE). The actual dates of composition of the Gita remain unresolved.[15]

Due to its presence in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita is classified as a Smriti text or "that which is remembered".[note 2] The smriti texts of the period between 200 BCE and 100 CE belong to the emerging "Hindu Synthesis", proclaiming the authority of the Vedas while integrating various Indian traditions and religions. Acceptance of the Vedas became a central criterion for defining Hinduism over and against the heterodoxies, which rejected the Vedas.[18]

The so-called "Hindu Synthesis" emerged during the early Classical period (200 BCE – 300 CE) of Hinduism.[18][9][19] According to Alf Hiltebeitel, a period of consolidation in the development of Hinduism took place between the time of the late Vedic Upanishad (ca. 500 BCE) and the period of the rise of the Guptas (ca. 320–467 CE) which he calls the "Hindu Synthesis", "Brahmanic Synthesis", or "Orthodox Synthesis".[18] It developed in interaction with other religions and peoples:

The emerging self-definitions of Hinduism were forged in the context of continuous interaction with heterodox religions (Buddhists, Jains, Ajivikas) throughout this whole period, and with foreign people (Yavanas, or Greeks; Sakas, or Scythians; Pahlavas, or Parthians; and Kusanas, or Kushans) from the third phase on [between the Mauryan empire and the rise of the Guptas].[18]

The Bhagavad Gita is the sealing achievement of this Hindu Synthesis, incorporating various religious traditions.[18][11][9][web 1][10] According to Hiltebeitel, Bhakti forms an essential ingredient of this synthesis, which incorporates Bhakti into Vedanta.[18] According to Deutsch and Dalvi, the Bhagavad Gita attempts "to forge a harmony"[20] between different strands of Indian thought: jnana, dharma and bhakti.[11] Deutsch and Dalvi note that the authors of the Bhagavad Gita "must have seen the appeal of the soteriologies both of the "heterodox" traditions of Buddhism and Jainism and of the more "orthodox" ones of Samkhya and Yoga",[8] while the Brahmanic tradition emphasised "the significance of dharma as the instrument of goodness".[8] Scheepers mentions the Bhagavat Gita as a Brahmanical text which uses the shramanic and Yogic terminology to spread the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or dharma, in contrast to the yogic ideal of liberation from the workings of karma.[9] According to Basham,

The Bhagavadgita combines many different elements from Samkhya and Vedanta philosophy. In matters of religion, its important contribution was the new emphasis placed on devotion, which has since remained a central path in Hinduism. In addition, the popular theism expressed elsewhere in the Mahabharata and the transcendentalism of the Upanishads converge, and a God of personal characteristics is identified with the brahman of the Vedic tradition. The Bhagavadgita thus gives a typology of the three dominant trends of Indian religion: dharma-based householder life, enlightenment-based renunciation, and devotion-based theism.[web 1]

Bhagavad Gita as a synthesis:

The Bhagavadgita may be treated as a great synthesis of the ideas of the impersonal spiritual monism with personalistic monotheism, of the yoga of action with the yoga of transcendence of action, and these again with yogas of devotion and knowledge.[10]

The influence of the Bhagavad Gita was such, that its synthesis was adapted to and incorporated into specific Indian traditions. Nicholson mentions the Shiva Gita as an adaptation of the Vishnu-oriented Bhagavat Gita into Shiva-oriented terminology,[21] and the Isvara Gita as borrowing entire verses from the Krishna-oriented Bhagavad Gita and placing them into a new Shiva-oriented context.[22]

Although early Vedanta gives an interpretation of the sruti texts of the Upanishads, and its main commentary the Brahman Sutras, the popularity of the Bhagavad Gita was such that it could not be neglected.[6] It is referred to in the Brahman Sutras, and Shankara, Bhaskara and Ramanuja all three wrote commentaries on it.[6] The Bhagavad Gita is different from the Upanishads in format and content, and accessible to all, in contrast to the sruti, which are only to be read and heard by the higher castes.[6]

Some branches of Hinduism give it the status of an Upanishad, and consider it to be a Śruti or "revealed text".[27][28] According to Pandit, who gives a modern-orthodox interpretation of Hinduism, "since the Bhagavad Gita represents a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is sometimes called 'the Upanishad of the Upanishads'."[29]

The Bhagavad Gita is a Bhagavata explanation of the Purusha Sukta and the PurushamedhaSrautayajna described in the Satapatha Brahmana.[12] Chapters 7 and 8 of the Bhagavad Gita describe the relationship between teacher and disciple, where the teacher is viewed as the absolute person, Purusa Narayana.[12] In Chapters 10 and 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna begins to instruct Arjuna about the directions of space-time within himself reflecting what is written in the Satapatha Brahmana and Purusa Sukta.[12] The vision of Krishna in his universal form shows the self-devouring nature of the absolute person, as described in the Satapatha Brahmana and Purusa Sukta.[12] Chapters 12 describes the two paths one chooses after one completes the Purushamedha yajna i.e. become a renunciate or remain as a householder.[12] Chapter 14 is the highest teaching within the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge to achieve the same state as Purusa Narayana, which is the goal of the Purushamedha.[30]

In the epic Mahabharata, after Sanjaya—counsellor of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra—returns from the battlefield to announce the death of Bhishma, he begins recounting the details of the Mahabharata war. Bhagavad Gita forms the content of this recollection.[31] The Gita begins before the start of the climactic Kurukshetra War, where the Pandava prince Arjuna is filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realising that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, God Incarnate Lord Shri Krishna, for advice. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, elaborating on a variety of philosophical concepts.[32]

Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters (section 25 to 42)[33][web 2] in the Bhishma Parva of the epic Mahabharata and consists of 700 verses.[34] Because of differences in recensions, the verses of the Gita may be numbered in the full text of the Mahabharata as chapters 6.25–42 or as chapters 6.23–40.[web 3] According to the recension of the Gita commented on by Adi Shankara, a prominent philosopher of the Vedanta school, the number of verses is 700, but there is evidence to show that old manuscripts had 745 verses.[35] The verses themselves, composed with similes and metaphors, are poetic in nature. The verses mostly employ the range and style of the Sanskrit Anustubhmetre (chhandas), and in a few expressive verses the Tristubh metre is used.[36]

The Sanskrit editions of the Gita name each chapter as a particular form of yoga. However, these chapter titles do not appear in the Sanskrit text of the Mahabharata.[web 3]Swami Chidbhavananda explains that each of the eighteen chapters is designated as a separate yoga because each chapter, like yoga, "trains the body and the mind". He labels the first chapter "Arjuna Vishada Yogam" or the "Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection".[37] Sir Edwin Arnold translates this chapter as "The Distress of Arjuna"[38]

Gita Dhyanam: (contains 9 verses) The Gita Dhyanam is not a part of the main Bhagavad Gita, but it is commonly published with the Gītā as a prefix. The verses of the Gita Dhyanam (also called Gītā Dhyāna or Dhyāna Ślokas) offer salutations to a variety of sacred scriptures, figures, and entities, characterise the relationship of the Gītā to the Upanishads, and affirm the power of divine assistance.[39] It is a common practice to recite these before reading the Gita.[web 4][40]

Prathama adhyaya[41] (The Distress of Arjuna[38] contains 46 verses): Arjuna has requested Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. His growing dejection is described as he fears losing friends and relatives as a consequence of war.[web 5]

Sankhya yoga (The Book of Doctrines[38] contains 72 verses): After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed into various subjects such as, Karma yoga, Gyaana yoga, Sankhya yoga, Buddhi yoga and the immortal nature of the soul. Sankhya here refers to one of six orthodox schools of the Hindu Philosophy. This chapter is often considered the summary of the entire Bhagavad Gita.[web 6]

Karma yoga (Virtue in Work[38] or Virtue Of Actions contains 43 verses): Krishna explains how Karma yoga, i.e. performance of prescribed duties, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action for Arjuna.[web 7]

Gyaana–Karma-Sanyasa yoga (The Religion of Knowledge[38] contains 42 verses): Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.[web 8]

Karma–Sanyasa yoga (Religion by Renouncing Fruits of Works[38] contains 29 verses): Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act ("renunciation or discipline of action").[42] Krishna answers that both are ways to the same goal,[web 9] but that acting in Karma yoga is superior.

Dhyan yoga or Atmasanyam yoga (Religion by Self-Restraint[38] contains 47 verses): Krishna describes the Ashtanga yoga. He further elucidates the difficulties of the mind and the techniques by which mastery of the mind might be gained.[web 10]

Aksara–Brahma yoga (Religion by Devotion to the One Supreme God[38] contains 28 verses): This chapter contains eschatology of the Bhagavad Gita. Importance of the last thought before death, differences between material and spiritual worlds, and light and dark paths that a soul takes after death are described.[web 12]

Raja–Vidya–Raja–Guhya yoga (Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery[38] contains 34 verses): Krishna explains how His eternal energy pervades, creates, preserves, and destroys the entire universe.[web 13] According to theologian Christopher Southgate, verses of this chapter of the Gita are panentheistic,[43] while German physicist and philosopher Max Bernhard Weinstein deems the work pandeistic.[44]

Vibhuti–Vistara–yoga (Religion by the Heavenly Perfections[38] contains 42 verses): Krishna is described as the ultimate cause of all material and spiritual existence. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.[web 14]

Visvarupa–Darsana yoga (The Manifesting of the One and Manifold[38] contains 55 verses): On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Viśvarūpa),[web 15] a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.

Bhakti yoga (The Religion of Faith[38] contains 20 verses): In this chapter Krishna glorifies the path of devotion to God. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti yoga). He also explains different forms of spiritual disciplines.[web 16]

Ksetra–Ksetrajna Vibhaga yoga (Religion by Separation of Matter and Spirit[38] contains 35 verses): The difference between transient perishable physical body and the immutable eternal soul is described. The difference between individual consciousness and universal consciousness is also made clear.[web 17]

Gunatraya–Vibhaga yoga (Religion by Separation from the Qualities[38] contains 27 verses): Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature pertaining to goodness, passion, and nescience. Their causes, characteristics, and influence on a living entity are also described.[web 18]

Purusottama yoga (Religion by Attaining the Supreme[38] contains 20 verses): Krishna identifies the transcendental characteristics of God such as, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.[web 19] Krishna also describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), which has its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.

Daivasura–Sampad–Vibhaga yoga (The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine[38] contains 24 verses): Krishna identifies the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one must give up lust, anger, greed, and discern between right and wrong action by discernment through Buddhi and evidence from the scriptures.[web 20]

Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga yoga (Religion by the Threefold Kinds of Faith[38] contains 28 verses): Krishna qualifies the three divisions of faith, thoughts, deeds, and even eating habits corresponding to the three modes (gunas).[web 21]

Moksha–Sanyasa yoga (Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation[38] contains 78 verses): In this chapter, the conclusions of previous seventeen chapters are summed up. Krishna asks Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him and describes this as the ultimate perfection of life.[web 22]

The term dharma has a number of meanings.[45] Fundamentally, it means "what is right".[45] Early in the text, responding to Arjuna's despondency, Krishna asks him to follow his swadharma,[46][note 3] "the dharma that belongs to a particular man (Arjuna) as a member of a particular varna, (i.e., the kshatriya)."[46] Many traditional followers accept and believe that every man is unique in nature(svabhava) and hence svadharma for each and every individual is also unique and must be followed strictly with sole bhakthi and shraddha.[citation needed]

According to Vivekananda:

If one reads this one Shloka, one gets all the merits of reading the entire Gita; for in this one Shloka lies imbedded the whole Message of the Gita."[47]

The Bhagavad Gita is set in the narrative frame of the Mahabharata, which values heroism, "energy, dedication and self-sacrifice",[4] as the dharma, "holy duty"[48] of the Kshatriya (Warrior).[48][4][49] Axel Michaels in his book Hinduism: Past and Present writes that in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is "exhorted by his charioteer, Kṛiṣhṇa, among others, to stop hesitating and fulfil his Kṣatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior and kill."[4]

According to Malinar, the dispute between the two parties in the Mahabharata centres on the question how to define "the law of heroism".[50][note 4] Malinar gives a description of the dharma of a Kshatriya (warrior) based on the Udyogaparvan, the fifth book of the Mahabharata:

This duty consists first of all in standing one's ground and fighting for status. The main duty of a warrior is never to submit to anybody. A warrior must resist any impulse to self-preservation that would make him avoid a fight. In brief, he ought to be a man (puruso bhava; cf. 5.157.6; 13;15). Some of the most vigorous formulations of what called the "heart" or the "essence" of heroism (ksatrahrdaya) come from the ladies of the family. They bare shown most unforgiving with regard to the humiliations they have gone through, the loss of their status and honour, not to speak of the shame of having a weak man in the house, whether husband, son or brother.[5][note 5]

Michaels defines heroism as "power assimilated with interest in salvation".[51] According to Michaels:

Even though the frame story of the Mahabharata is rather simple, the epic has an outstanding significance for Hindu heroism. The heroism of the Pandavas, the ideals of honor and courage in battle, are constant sources of treatises in which it is not sacrifice, renunciation of the world, or erudition that is valued, but energy, dedication and self-sacrifice. The Bhagavad Gita, inserted in the sixth book (Bhishmaparvan), and probably completed in the second century CE, is such a text, that is, a philosophical and theistic treatise, with which the Pandava is exhorted by his charioteer, Krishna, among others, to stop hesitating and fulfill his Kṣatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior and kill.[4]

According to Malinar, "Arjuna's crisis and some of the arguments put forward to call him to action are connected to the debates on war and peace in the UdP [Udyoga Parva]".[52] According to Malinar, the UdP emphasises that one must put up with fate and, the BhG personalises the surrender one's personal interests to the power of destiny by "propagating the view that accepting and enacting the fatal course of events is an act of devotion to this god [Krsna] and his cause."[52]

The eighteenth chapter of the Gita examines the relationship between svadharma and svabhava.[note 6][53] This chapter uses the gunas of Shankya philosophy to present a series of typologies, and uses the same term to characterise the specific activities of the four varnas, which are distinguished by the "gunas proceeding from their nature."[53]

Aurobindo modernises the concept of dharma and svabhava by internalising it, away from the social order and its duties towards one's personal capacities, which leads to a radical individualism,[54] "finding the fulfilment of the purpose of existence in the individual alone."[54] He deduced from the Gita the doctrine that "the functions of a man ought to be determined by his natural turn, gift, and capacities",[54] that the individual should "develop freely"[54] and thereby would be best able to serve society.[54]

Gandhi's view differed from Aurobindo's view.[55] He recognised in the concept of swadharma his idea of swadeshi, the idea that "man owes his service above all to those who are nearest to him by birth and situation."[55] To him, swadeshi was "swadharma applied to one's immediate environment."[56]

The first reference to dharma in the Bhagavad Gita occurs in its first verse, where Dhritarashtra refers to the Kurukshetra, the location of the battlefield, as the Field of Dharma, "The Field of Righteousness or Truth".[45] According to Fowler, dharma in this verse may refer to the sanatana dharma, "what Hindus understand as their religion, for it is a term that encompasses wide aspects of religious and traditional thought and is more readily used for ""religion".[45] Therefore, 'Field of action' implies the field of righteousness, where truth will eventually triumph.[45]

"The Field of Dharma" is also called the "Field of action" by Sri Aurobindo, a freedom fighter and philosopher.[45]Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a philosopher and the second president of India, saw "The Field of Dharma" as the world (Bhavsagar), which is a "battleground for moral struggle".[57]

Illustration of the battle of Kurukshetra, Arjuna (far right), with Krishna as the charioteer, is battling the Kauravas as the gods look down.

Unlike any other religious scripture, the Bhagavad Gita broadcasts its message in the centre of the battlefield.[58] The choice of such an unholy ambience for the delivery of a philosophical discourse has been an enigma to many commentators.[web 25] Several modern Indian writers have interpreted the battlefield setting as an allegory of "the war within".[59]

Eknath Easwaran writes that the Gita's subject is "the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious",[60] and that "The language of battle is often found in the scriptures, for it conveys the strenuous, long, drawn-out campaign we must wage to free ourselves from the tyranny of the ego, the cause of all our suffering and sorrow."[61]

Swami Nikhilananda, takes Arjuna as an allegory of Ātman, Krishna as an allegory of Brahman, Arjuna's chariot as the body, and Dhritarashtra as the ignorance filled mind.[note 7]

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in his commentary on the Gita,[62] interprets the battle as "an allegory in which the battlefield is the soul and Arjuna, man's higher impulses struggling against evil".[63]

Swami Vivekananda also emphasised that the first discourse in the Gita related to the war could be taken allegorically.[64] Vivekananda further remarked,

This Kurukshetra War is only an allegory. When we sum up its esoteric significance, it means the war which is constantly going on within man between the tendencies of good and evil.[65]

In Aurobindo's view, Krishna was a historical figure, but his significance in the Gita is as a "symbol of the divine dealings with humanity",[66] while Arjuna typifies a "struggling human soul".[67] However, Aurobindo rejected the interpretation that the Gita, and the Mahabharata by extension, is "an allegory of the inner life, and has nothing to do with our outward human life and actions":[67]

... That is a view which the general character and the actual language of the epic does not justify and, if pressed, would turn the straightforward philosophical language of the Gita into a constant, laborious and somewhat puerile mystification ... the Gita is written in plain terms and professes to solve the great ethical and spiritual difficulties which the life of man raises, and it will not do to go behind this plain language and thought and wrest them to the service of our fancy. But there is this much of truth in the view, that the setting of the doctrine though not symbolical, is certainly typical.[67]

Here in the Bhagavad Gita, we find a practical handbook of instruction on how best we can re-organise our inner ways of thinking, feeling, and acting in our everyday life and draw from ourselves a larger gush of productivity to enrich the life around us, and to emblazon the subjective life within us.[68]

Other scholars such as Steven Rosen, Laurie L. Patton and Stephen Mitchell have seen in the Gita a religious defense of the warrior class's (KshatriyaVarna) duty (svadharma), which is to conduct combat and war with courage and do not see this as only an allegorical teaching, but also a real defense of just war.[69][70]

Indian independence leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw the Gita as a text which defended war when necessary and used it to promote war against the British Empire. Lajpat Rai wrote an article on the "Message of the Bhagavad Gita". He saw the main message as the bravery and courage of Arjuna to fight as a warrior.[71]Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw the Gita as defending killing when necessary for the betterment of society, such as, for example, the killing of Afzal Khan.[71]

"Even the Gita was used to teach murder. Lies, deceit, murder, everything, it was argued, may be rightly used. How far the leaders really believed this teaching no man can say; but the younger men got filled with it, and many were only too sincere."[72]

Liberation or moksha in Vedanta philosophy is not something that can be acquired or reached. Ātman (Soul), the goal of moksha, is something that is always present as the essence of the self, and can be revealed by deep intuitive knowledge. While the Upanishads largely uphold such a monistic viewpoint of liberation, the Bhagavad Gita also accommodates the dualistic and theistic aspects of moksha. The Gita, while occasionally hinting at impersonal Brahman as the goal, revolves around the relationship between the Self and a personal God or Saguna Brahman. A synthesis of knowledge, devotion, and desireless action is given as a prescription for Arjuna's despondence; the same combination is suggested as a way to moksha.[73]Winthrop Sargeant further explains, "In the model presented by the Bhagavad Gītā, every aspect of life is in fact a way of salvation."[74]

Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita refers to the skill of union with the ultimate reality or the Absolute.[75] In his commentary, Zaehner says that the root meaning of yoga is "yoking" or "preparation"; he proposes the basic meaning "spiritual exercise", which conveys the various nuances in the best way.[76]

Sivananda's commentary regards the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita as having a progressive order, by which Krishna leads "Arjuna up the ladder of Yoga from one rung to another."[77] The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati divided the Gita's eighteen chapters into three sections of six chapters each. Swami Gambhirananda characterises Madhusudana Sarasvati's system as a successive approach in which Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga, which in turn leads to Gyaana yoga:[78][79]

As noted by various commentators, the Bhagavad Gita offers a practical approach to liberation in the form of Karma yoga. The path of Karma yoga upholds the necessity of action. However, this action is to be undertaken without any attachment to the work or desire for results. Bhagavad Gita terms this "inaction in action and action in inaction (4.18)". The concept of such detached action is also called Nishkam Karma, a term not used in the Gita.[80] Lord Krishna, in the following verses, elaborates on the role actions, performed without desire and attachment, play in attaining freedom from material bondage and transmigration:

To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction

Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga. (2.47–8)[81]

The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence, and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification. (5.11)[web 26]

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi writes, "The object of the Gita appears to me to be that of showing the most excellent way to attain self-realization", and this can be achieved by selfless action, "By desireless action; by renouncing fruits of action; by dedicating all activities to God, i.e., by surrendering oneself to Him body and soul." Gandhi called the Gita "The Gospel of Selfless Action".[82] To achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy sense pleasures. The following verses illustrate this:[83]

When a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and from desire comes anger.

From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes. (2.62–3)[83]

The introduction to chapter seven of the Bhagavad Gita explains bhakti as a mode of worship which consists of unceasing and loving remembrance of God. Faith (Śraddhā) and total surrender to a chosen God (Ishta-deva) are considered to be important aspects of bhakti.[84] Theologian Catherine Cornille writes, "The text [of the Gita] offers a survey of the different possible disciplines for attaining liberation through knowledge (Gyaana), action (karma), and loving devotion to God (bhakti), focusing on the latter as both the easiest and the highest path to salvation."[85] M. R. Sampatkumaran, a Bhagavad Gita scholar, explains in his overview of Ramanuja's commentary on the Gita, "The point is that mere knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final release. Devotion, meditation, and worship are essential."[86]Ramakrishna believed that the essential message of the Gita could be obtained by repeating the word Gita several times,[87] "'Gita, Gita, Gita', you begin, but then find yourself saying 'ta-Gi, ta-Gi, ta-Gi'. Tagi means one who has renounced everything for God." In the following verses, Krishna elucidates the importance of bhakti:

And of all yogins, he who full of faith worships Me, with his inner self abiding in Me, him, I hold to be the most attuned (to me in Yoga). (6.47)[88]

For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pṛthā, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death. (12.6–7)[web 27]

Radhakrishnan writes that the verse 11.55 is "the essence of bhakti" and the "substance of the whole teaching of the Gita":[89]

Those who make me the supreme goal of all their work and act without selfish attachment, who devote themselves to me completely and are free from ill will for any creature, enter into me.(11.55)[90]

Jnana yoga is the path of wisdom, knowledge, and direct experience of Brahman as the ultimate reality. The path renounces both desires and actions, and is therefore depicted as being steep and very difficult in the Bhagavad Gita. This path is often associated with the non-dualistic Vedantic belief of the identity of the Ātman with the Brahman. For the followers of this path, the realisation of the identity of Ātman and Brahman is held as the key to liberation.[91]

When a sensible man ceases to see different identities, which are due to different material bodies, he attains to the Brahman conception. Thus he sees that beings are expanded everywhere. (13.31)[web 28]

One who knowingly sees this difference between the body and the owner of the body and can understand the process of liberation from this bondage, also attains to the supreme goal. (13.35)[web 29]

The Bhagavad Gita was first translated into English in the year 1785, by Charles Wilkins on the orders of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, with special interest shown by Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of India. This edition had an introduction to the Gita by Warren Hastings. Soon the work was translated into other European languages such as German, French and Russian.

In 1849, the Weleyan Mission Press, Bangalore published The Bhagavat-Geeta, Or, Dialogues of Krishna and Arjoon in Eighteen Lectures, with Sanskrit, Canarese and English in parallel columns, edited by Rev. John Garrett, and the efforts being supported by Sir. Mark Cubbon[92]

Bhagavad Gita integrates various schools of thought, notably Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga, and other theistic ideas. It remains a popular text for commentators belonging to various philosophical schools. However, its composite nature also leads to varying interpretations of the text. In the words of Mysore Hiriyanna,

[The Gita] is one of the hardest books to interpret, which accounts for the numerous commentaries on it–each differing from the rest in one essential point or the other.[93]

The oldest and most influential medieval commentary was that of Adi Shankara (788–820 CE),[95] also known as Shankaracharya (Sanskrit: Śaṅkarācārya).[96][97] Shankara's commentary was based on a recension of the Gita containing 700 verses, and that recension has been widely adopted by others.[98]

Madhva, a commentator of the Dvaita Vedanta school,[100] whose dates are given either as (1199–1276 CE)[101] or as (1238–1317 CE),[74] also known as Madhvacharya (Sanskrit: Madhvācārya), wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, which exemplifies the thinking of the "dualist" school.[96] Winthrop Sargeant quotes a dualistic assertion of the Madhva's school that there is "an eternal and complete distinction between the Supreme, the many souls, and matter and its divisions".[74] His commentary on the Gita is called Gita Bhāshya. It has been annotated on by many ancient pontiffs of Dvaita Vedanta school like Padmanabha Tirtha, Jayatirtha, and Raghavendra Tirtha.[102]

At a time when Indian nationalists were seeking an indigenous basis for social and political action, Bhagavad Gita provided them with a rationale for their activism and fight against injustice.[106] Among nationalists, notable commentaries were written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, who used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement.[107][108] Tilak wrote his commentary Shrimadh Bhagvad Gita Rahasya while in jail during the period 1910–1911 serving a six-year sentence imposed by the British colonial government in India for sedition.[109] While noting that the Gita teaches possible paths to liberation, his commentary places most emphasis on Karma yoga.[110] No book was more central to Gandhi's life and thought than the Bhagavad Gita, which he referred to as his "spiritual dictionary".[111] During his stay in Yeravda jail in 1929,[111] Gandhi wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Gujarati. The Gujarati manuscript was translated into English by Mahadev Desai, who provided an additional introduction and commentary. It was published with a foreword by Gandhi in 1946.[112][113] Mahatma Gandhi expressed his love for the Gita in these words:

I find a solace in the Bhagavadgītā that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavadgītā. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies – and my life has been full of external tragedies – and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavadgītā.[114][115]

Although Vivekananda did not write any commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, his works contained numerous references to the Gita, such as his lectures on the four yogas – Bhakti, Gyaana, Karma, and Raja.[116] Through the message of the Gita, Vivekananda sought to energise the people of India to claim their own dormant but strong identity.[117]Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay thought that the answer to the problems that beset Hindu society was a revival of Hinduism in its purity, which lay in the reinterpretation of Bhagavad Gita for a new India.[118] Aurobindo saw Bhagavad Gita as a "scripture of the future religion" and suggested that Hinduism had acquired a much wider relevance through the Gita.[119] Sivananda called Bhagavad Gita "the most precious jewel of Hindu literature" and suggested its introduction into the curriculum of Indian schools and colleges.[120] In the lectures Chinmayananda gave, on tours undertaken to revive of moral and spiritual values of the Hindus, he borrowed the concept of Gyaana yajna, or the worship to invoke divine wisdom, from the Gita.[121] He viewed the Gita as a universal scripture to turn a person from a state of agitation and confusion to a state of complete vision, inner contentment, and dynamic action. Teachings of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organisation which spread rapidly in North America in the 1970s and 1980s, are based on a translation of the Gita called Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.[122]

Paramahansa Yogananda's two volume commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, called God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita, was released 1995.[125]

Eknath Easwaran has also written a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. It examines the applicability of the principles of Gita to the problems of modern life.[126]

The version by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, entitled Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is "by far the most widely distributed of all English Gita translations."[127] For each verse, he gives the verse in the Sanskrit Devanagari script, followed by a roman transliteration, a gloss for each word, and then a translation and commentary.[128] His publisher, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, estimates sales at twenty-three million copies, a figure which includes the original English edition and secondary translations into fifty-six other languages.[129]

Ramanandacharya delivering a discourse. He has delivered many discourses on Gita and released the first Braille version of the scripture.

The first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita was done by Charles Wilkins in 1785.[133][134] In 1981, Larson listed more than 40 English translations of the Gita, stating that "A complete listing of Gita translations and a related secondary bibliography would be nearly endless".[135]:514 He stated that "Overall ... there is a massive translational tradition in English, pioneered by the British, solidly grounded philologically by the French and Germans, provided with its indigenous roots by a rich heritage of modern Indian comment and reflection, extended into various disciplinary areas by Americans, and having generated in our time a broadly based cross-cultural awareness of the importance of the Bhagavad Gita both as an expression of a specifically Indian spirituality and as one of the great religious "classics" of all time."[135]:518 Sanskrit scholar Barbara Stoler Miller produced a translation in 1986 intended to emphasise the poem's influence and current context within English Literature, especially the works of T.S. Eliot, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.[136] The translation was praised by scholars as well as literary critics[137] and became one of the most continually popular translations to date.[138]

The Gita has also been translated into European languages other than English. In 1808, passages from the Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through which Friedrich Schlegel became known as the founder of Indian philology in Germany.[139]Swami Rambhadracharya released the first Braille version of the scripture, with the original Sanskrit text and a Hindi commentary, on 30 November 2007.[web 30] The former Turkish Scholar-Politician, Bulent Ecevit translated several Sanskrit scriptures, including the Gita, into Turkish. Mahavidwan

Gita Press has published the Gita in multiple Indian languages.[140]R. Raghava Iyengar translated the Gita into Tamil in sandam metre poetic form.[141] The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes the Gita in more than forty languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Kazakh, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hebrew, Arabic, Swahili, and sixteen Indian languages.[142]

The textual development of the Bhagavad Gita has been researched, but the methods of this research have developed since its onset in the late 18th century. According to Adluri and Bagchee, 19th century German indologists had an anti-Brahmanic stance,[143] due to their "Protestant suspicion of the Brahmans."[144] They conceived of the Mahabharata as an Indo-Germanic war-epic in origin, to which layers of text were added by the later Brahmins, including the Bhagavad Gita.[145] This interpretation was fueled by the search for Germanic origins and identity, in which the Brahmins were anti-thetical to the pure Aryans.[146] According to Adluri and Bagchee, 20th century Indology professionalized, but remained anti-Brahmanic, though the anti-Brahmanism disappeared from sight and went "underground."[147][note 8]

Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi has strongly pitched the Bhagavad Gita as "India's biggest gift to the world"[150]. Shri Modi gifted The Bhagavad Gita according to Gandhi to the then President of the United States of America, Mr Barack Obama in 2014 during his US visit[151]. As Shri Modi presents Gita to the leaders of the world, over a billion people find peace and purpose in these words of Krishna through Gandhi[152].

With the translation and study of the Bhagavad Gita by Western scholars beginning in the early 18th century, the Bhagavad Gita gained a growing appreciation and popularity.[web 1] According to the Indian historian and writer Khushwant Singh, Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If—" is "the essence of the message of The Gita in English."[153]

When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of external tragedies and if they have not left any visible or invisible effect on me, I owe it to the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita.[159]

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, commented on the Gita:

The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.[160]

J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad Gita in the original form, citing it later as one of the most influential books to shape his philosophy of life. Upon witnessing the world's first nuclear test in 1945, he later said he had thought of the quotation "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds", verse 32 from chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.[155][166]

President of India inaugurates International Gita Mahotsava-2017 in Haryana On November 25, 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the International Gita Mahotsava-2017 in Kurukshetra, Haryana. Mauritius is the partner country and Uttar Pradesh is the partner state for this event. About 20 lakh people participated in Gita Mahotsav last year, which also included people from 35 countries. About 25–30 lakh people are expected to participate in this event till December 3, 2017.

^Śruti texts, such as the Upanishads, are believed to be revelations of divine origin, whereas Smritis are authored recollections of tradition and are therefore fallible.

^Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: "Swadharma is that action which is in accordance with your nature. It is acting in accordance with your skills and talents, your own nature (svabhava), and that which you are responsible for (karma)."[web 23]

^Malinar: "[W]hat law must a warrior follow, on what authority, and how does the definition of kṣatriyadharma affect the position of the king, who is supposed to protect and represent it?"[50]

^Nikhilananda & Hocking 2006, p. 2 "Arjuna represents the individual soul, and Sri Krishna the Supreme Soul dwelling in every heart. Arjuna's chariot is the body. The blind king Dhritarashtra is the mind under the spell of ignorance, and his hundred sons are man's numerous evil tendencies. The battle, a perennial one, is between the power of good and the power of evil. The warrior who listens to the advice of the Lord speaking from within will triumph in this battle and attain the Highest Good."

^According to Adluri and Bagchee, this anti-Brahmanism had its counterpart in European anti-Semitism, which saw the Jews as anti-thetical to Christianity, which was regarded as "the logical, historical culmination of the Jewish faith,"[148] and a manifestation of the development of Spirit into its own self-consciousness.[149]

^ abGerald James Larson (1981), "The Song Celestial: Two centuries of the Bhagavad Gita in English", Philosophy East and West: A Quarterly of Comparative Philosophy, University of Hawai'i Press, 31 (4): 513–40, doi:10.2307/1398797, JSTOR1398797.

1.
Kurukshetra
–
Kurukshetra is a city in the state of Haryana, India. It is also known as Dharmakshetra, according to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is a region named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas, as depicted in epic Mahabharata. The population of Kurukshetra was 964,655 in 2016, before the establishment of a refugee camp named Kurukshetra in 1947, Thanesar was the name of the tehsil headquarters and the town. Thanesar or Sthaneswar is a town located adjacent to what is now the newly created Kurukshetra city. Thanesar derives its name from the word Sthaneshwar, which means Place of God, the Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva, is believed to be the oldest temple in the vicinity. Local hearsay identifies the legendary Kurukshetra with a place near Thanesar, a few kilometers from Kurukshetra is the village known as Amin, where there are remnants of a fort which is believed to be Abhimanyus. In most ancient Hindu texts, Kurukshetra is not a city, the boundaries of Kurukshetra correspond roughly to the central and western parts of state of Haryana and southern Punjab. Thus according to the Taittiriya Aranyaka 5.1.1, the Kurukshetra region is south of Turghna, north of Khandava, east of Maru and west of Parin. In early July 2013 the Haryana Department of Archaeology and Museums announced that the excavated remains of a Buddhist stupa in Kurukshetra were ready to be displayed for the public. It is written in Puranas that Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru of the Bharata Dynasty, the Vamana Purana tells how King Kuru came to settle here. He chose this land at the banks of Sarasvati River for embedding spirituality with eight virtues, austerity, truth, forgiveness, kindness, purity, charity, yajna, Lord Vishnu was impressed with the act of King Kuru and blessed him. God gave him two boons, one that this land forever will be known as a Holy Land after his name as Kurukshetra, the land of Kurukshetra was situated between two rivers — the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati. This land has been known as Uttarvedi, Brahmavedi, Dharamkshetra and Kurukshetra at different periods, when King Kuru came on this land it was called Uttarvedi. Over the period this land has been ruled by many empires, the Bharata Dynasty came and settled here. According to the Hindu mythology, the Battle of Mahabharata was fought on this land, by the archaeological grounds it has been proved that Ashoka the Great made Kurukshetra a centre of learning for people from all over the world. It reached the zenith of its progress during the reign of King Harsha, the climate of the district is very hot in summer and cold in winter with rains in July and August. In 2012, Kurukshetra banned the sale, possession and consumption of meat within the limits of the Municipal Corporation owing to its religious significance and it is supposed to be the worlds largest man-made pond. The worlds largest chariot of bronze is placed in purushotam bagh in the center of Brahma Sarovar and it is believed that when Duryodhan lost Mahabharta war, he tried to hide in this lake

2.
Hinduism
–
Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents

3.
Sanskrit
–
Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages

4.
Sanskrit language
–
Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages

5.
Bhagavan
–
In north India, Bhagavān also represents the concept of abstract God to Hindus who are religious but do not worship a specific deity. The term Bhagavān does not appear in Vedas, nor in early or middle Upanishads, the oldest Sanskrit texts use the term Brahman to represent an abstract Supreme Soul, Absolute Reality, while using names of deities like Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva to represent gods and goddesses. The term Ishvara appears in later Vedas and middle Upanishads where it is used to discuss spiritual concepts, the word Bhagavān is found in later era literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas. In Bhakti school literature, the term is used for any deity to whom prayers are offered, for example, Rama, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Krishna. Often the deity is the one and only Bhagavan. Bhagavan is male in Bhakti traditions, and the equivalent of Bhagavān is Bhagavatī. To some Hindus the word Bhagavan is an abstract, genderless God concept, in Buddhisms Pali scriptures, the term is used with Gautama Buddha, referring to him as Bhagavān Buddha and Bhagavān Shakyamuni. The term Bhagavān is also found in other Theravada, Mahayana, Bhagavān is generally translated as Lord or God. In modern usage, Bhagavān is synonymous with Ishvara, Devatā, Hari or Prabhu, Bhagavan is alternatively spelled as Bhagvān, Bhagwan or Bhagawan. The word is, in some sects, used as a title for a spiritual leader considered fully enlightened by the sect. The word is also a noun and used as a first name for boys. Bhagavān literally means fortunate, blessed, and hence illustrious, divine, venerable, holy, Brahma that is the word is composed of scripture, Brahma that is supreme is produced of reflection. Ignorance is utter darkness, in knowledge, obtained through any sense, shines like a lamp. That essence of the supreme is defined by the term Bhagavat, the word Bhagavat is the denomination of that primeval and eternal god, and he who fully understands the meaning of that expression, is possessed of holy wisdom, the sum and substance of the Vedas. The letter Bh implies the cherisher and supporter of the universe, by ga is understood the leader, impeller, or creator. The dissyllable Bhaga indicates the six properties, dominion, might, glory, splendour, wisdom, the purport of the letter va is that elemental spirit in which all beings exist, and which exists in all beings. And thus this great word Bhagavan is the name of Vásudeva, who is one with the supreme Brahma and this word therefore, which is the general denomination of an adorable object, is not used in reference to the supreme in a general, but a special signification. When applied to any other it is used in its customary or general import, in the latter case it may purport one who knows the origin and end and revolutions of beings, and what is wisdom, what ignorance

6.
Shloka
–
Shloka is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh poetic meter. It is the basis for Indian epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, for example, are written almost exclusively in shlokas. The traditional view is that form of verse was involuntarily composed by Valmiki in grief. The shloka is treated as a couplet, each hemistich of 16 syllables, composed of two Pādas of eight syllables, can take either a pathyā form or one of several vipulā forms. The form of the foot of the first Pāda limits the possible patterns the first foot may assume. Alternatively, a shloka is four quarter-verses, each with eight syllables, the Pathyā and Vipulā half-verses are arranged in the table above in order of frequency of occurrence. Out of 2579 half-verses taken from Kalidasa, Magha, Bharavi, the metrical constraints on a hemistich in terms of its two constituent padas are as follows, General The 1st and 8th syllables of both pādas are anceps. The 2nd and 3rd syllables cannot both be light in either pāda, i. e. one or both of the 2nd and 3rd syllables must be heavy in both pādas. Syllables 2-4 of the second pāda cannot be a ra-gaṇa Syllables 5-7 of the second pāda must be a ja-gaṇa This enforces an iambic cadence, normal form Syllables 5-7 of the first pāda must be a ya-gaṇa Variant forms, The 4th syllable of the first pāda is heavy. By comparison, Syllables 5-7 of any pāda in the old Vedic anuṣṭubh is typically a ja-gaṇa, a shloka, states Monier-Williams, can be any verse or stanza, a proverb, saying. The shloka and Anushtubh meter has been the most popular style in classical and post-classical Sanskrit works. It is octosyllabic, next harmonic to Gayatri meter that is sacred to the Hindus, a shloka has a rhythm, offers flexibility and creative space, but has embedded rules of composition. The Anushtubh is present in Vedic texts, but its presence is minor, a dominating presence of shlokas in a text is a marker that the text is likely post-Vedic. The shloka structure is embedded in the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranas, Smritis and scientific treatises of Hinduism such as Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita. The Mahabharata, for example, features many verse meters in its chapters, but a proportion of the stanzas, 95% are shlokas of the anustubh type. Subhashita Sutra Sanskrit prosody Vedic meter Arnold, Edward Vernon, Vedic Metre in its historical development. Sanskrit prosody and numerical symbols explained, london, Trübner and Co. pp. 57–146. Friedrich Max Müller, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, rocher, Ludo, The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447025225 Annette Wilke, Oliver Moebus

7.
Pandava
–
In the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic text, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri, who was the princess of Madra. Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, all five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi. Together the brothers fought and prevailed in a war against their cousins the Kauravas. The word Pandava is derived from their fathers name, Pandu, the other epithets of the Pandava group are, Panduputra - sons of Pandu Pandavakumara - young Pandavas Kaunteya - sons of Kunti Madreya - sons of Madri Yudhishthira, The eldest Pandava brother. His name means one who is steadfast even during war and his parents were Kunti and Dharma, god of virtue, justice and morality. Though he lacked the characteristic combat prowess of a Kshatriya, Yudhishthira was one of the most virtuous men, skilled in the duties of a king and he was a good king who, along with his brothers, founded the prosperous city of Indraprastha. In consequence of Krishnas machinations and also by his brothers conquest of the world and he performed two Ashwamedha sacrifices and one Rajasuya sacrifice. Yudhishthira learnt to control the dice from the Sage Brihadaswa and became good at playing chess and his other names are Ajatshatru and Dharmaraja. His name means of terrible might and his parents were Kunti and Vayu, the god of air and wind, who was known for his might. Bhima has the strength and prowess equal to ten thousand powerful bull elephants and was very athletic. He was aggressive and prone to anger, of all the brothers, he alone opposed Yudhishthira, although very loyal to him, for his questionable decisions opposing common sense in the name of dharma. Bhima was devoted to his family and was their natural protector and he was a master in wielding the mace. He was also an archer, having fought Drona and Ashwatthama. Bhima was also skilled in diverse areas of warfare, including wrestling, charioteering, riding elephants. Along with Arjuna, he went on expeditions to conquer the kingdoms to the east, during the Rajasuya Yagna, Bhima subjugated the kingdoms of the eastern direction completely. He slew Krishnas most dangerous enemy, Jarasandha, in a wrestling bout, during the war, Bhima was most famous for slaying one hundred Kauravas and Duryodhana himself. He was also skilled in chopping wood, cooking, culinary arts and his name means of stainless deeds. His parents were Kunti and Indra, king of the gods and he was very virtuous and avoided unjust acts

8.
Arjuna
–
Arjuna along with Krishna is the protagonist of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita alongside Krishna. He was an archer and a warrior accompanied by Lord Krishna, Arjuna was the son of Indra- the king of celestials, born in Kunti - the first wife of King Pandu in Kuru kingdom. In previous birth he was a saint named Nara who was the companion of another saint Narayana an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Krishna was the rebirth of Narayana and he was the third of the Pandava brothers and was married to Draupadi, Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra at different times. His children included Srutakarma, Iravan, Babruvahana, and Abhimanyu, Karna was an archer equivalent to Arjuna in the Mahabharata, who was his lifetime opponent. The name Arjuna has among its meanings white/clear and silver, cognates of Arjuna are Latin regens meaning ruler, Hindi raj meaning king, and English regal. The Mahabharata refers to Arjuna by twelve different names, in the story, these names are given when Prince Uttara of Matsya asks Arjuna to prove his identity. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration, one day, when the princes were playing a game, they lost their ball in a well. When the rest of the gave up the ball as being lost. A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of sarkanda, when an astonished Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realised that the stranger was none other than Drona. Bhishma asked Drona to become the Kuru princes teacher, seeking refuge from Panchala, Drona agreed. Under Dronas tutelage, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, along with the princes of Hastinapuras allies and vassals, Arjuna became Dronas favorite and most accomplished pupil, specifically, he became a master in using the bow and the arrow. In a famous incident, Drona deemed that out of all his students, even his own son Ashwatthama, none but Arjuna had the steadfast focus to shoot the eye of a bird on a tree, he was proven right. Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguise themselves as brahmins and attend the Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi, out of all of the great kings and other Kaurava princes, only Karna and Arjuna are able to do the established challenge. The test is to lift, string, and fire Pinakin to pierce the eye of a golden fish whilst only looking at its reflection, Drupada had designed this test with Arjuna in mind. At first Karna is able to lift and string the bow, afterwards, the disguised Arjuna accomplished the stringing and shooting of the bow. In some versions of the story, Arjuna is the prince to have interacted with Draupadi before. In some versions of the Swayamvara, Arjuna is forbidden by Kunti to attend the Swayamvara, kuntis reasoning is that only Yudhishthira and Duryodhana would be acceptable candidates for Draupadis hand, anyone else, not set to inherit the throne, would be an insult to Panchal

9.
Lord Krishna
–
Krishna is the god of compassion, tenderness and love in Hinduism. He is one of the most widely revered and popular Indian divinities, worshipped as the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Krishnas birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, Krishna is also known by numerous names, such as Govinda, Mukunda, Madhusudhana, Vasudeva and Makhan chor in affection. The anecdotes and narratives of Krishnas life are generally titled as Krishna Leela and he is a central character in the Bhagavata Purana, the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological and mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives, a god-child, a prankster, a lover, a divine hero. The synonyms of Krishna have been traced to 1st millennium BCE literature, worship of Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, sometimes referred to as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the Bhakti movement. Krishna-related literature has inspired performance arts such as Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi. Since the 1960s, the worship of Krishna has also spread to the Western world, the name originates from the Sanskrit word Kṛṣṇa, which is primarily an adjective meaning black, dark or dark blue. The waning moon is called Krishna Paksha, relating to the adjective meaning darkening, the name is also interpreted sometimes as all attractive. As a name of Vishnu, Krishna is listed as the 57th name in the Vishnu Sahasranama, based on his name, Krishna is often depicted in idols as black or blue-skinned. Krishna is also known by other names, epithets and titles. Among the most common names are Mohan enchanter, Govinda meaning chief herdsman, Gopala, some of the distinct names may be regionally important—for instance, Jagannatha, a popular incarnation of Puri, Odisha in eastern India. Krishna is represented in the Indian traditions in many ways, with common features. His iconography typically depicts him as black or dark reflecting his name, however ancient and medieval reliefs and stone-based arts depict him in the natural color of the material he is made from, both in India and in southeast Asia. In some texts, his skin is described as the color of Jambul. Krishna is often depicted wearing a peacock feather wreathe or crown, in this form, he usually stands with one leg bent in front of the other in the Tribhanga posture. He is sometimes accompanied by cows or a calf, symbolism for the divine herdsman Govinda, alternatively, he is shown as an amorous man with the gopis, often making music or playing pranks. In other icons, he is a part of the scene on the battlefield of the epic Mahabharata

10.
Dharma
–
Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages, in Buddhism dharma means cosmic law and order, but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for phenomena, Dharma in Jainism refers to the teachings of tirthankara and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings. For Sikhs, the word means the path of righteousness. The Classical Sanskrit noun dharma is a derivation from the root dhṛ, the word dharma was already in use in the historical Vedic religion, and its meaning and conceptual scope has evolved over several millennia. The antonym of dharma is adharma, the Classical Sanskrit noun dharma is a derivation from the root dhṛ, which means to hold, maintain, keep, and takes a meaning of what is established or firm, and hence law. It is derived from an older Vedic Sanskrit n-stem dharman-, with a meaning of bearer, supporter. In the Rigveda, the word appears as an n-stem, dhárman-, figuratively, it means sustainer and supporter. It is semantically similar to the Greek Ethos, in Classical Sanskrit, the noun becomes thematic, dharma-. The word dharma derives from Proto-Indo-European root *dʰer-, which in Sanskrit is reflected as class-1 root √dhṛ, etymologically it is related to Avestan √dar-, Latin firmus, Lithuanian derė́ti, Lithuanian dermė and darna and Old Church Slavonic drъžati. Classical Sanskrit word dharmas would formally match with Latin o-stem firmus from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s holding, were it not for its development from earlier Rigvedic n-stem. In Classical Sanskrit, and in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Atharvaveda, in Pāli, it is rendered dhamma. In some contemporary Indian languages and dialects it occurs as dharm. Dharma is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion and it has multiple meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is difficult to provide a concise definition for dharma, as the word has a long and varied history and straddles a complex set of meanings. There is no equivalent single word translation for dharma in western languages, there have been numerous, conflicting attempts to translate ancient Sanskrit literature with the word dharma into German, English and French. The concept, claims Paul Horsch, has caused difficulties for modern commentators and translators. Dharma root is dhri, which means ‘to support, hold and it is the thing that regulates the course of change by not participating in change, but that principle which remains constant

11.
War
–
War is a state of armed conflict between societies. It is generally characterized by extreme aggression, destruction, and mortality, an absence of war is usually called peace. Warfare refers to the activities and characteristics of types of war. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to legitimate military targets. While some scholars see war as a universal and ancestral aspect of human nature, as concerns a belligerents losses in proportion to its prewar population, the most destructive war in modern history may have been the Paraguayan War. In 2013 war resulted in 31,000 deaths, down from 72,000 deaths in 1990, in 2003, Richard Smalley identified war as the sixth biggest problem facing humanity for the next fifty years. Another byproduct of some wars is the prevalence of propaganda by some or all parties in the conflict, the word is related to the Old Saxon werran, Old High German werran, and the German verwirren, meaning “to confuse”, “to perplex”, and “to bring into confusion”. In German, the equivalent is Krieg, the Spanish, Portuguese, the scholarly study of war is sometimes called polemology, from the Greek polemos, meaning war, and -logy, meaning the study of. Studies of war by military theorists throughout military history have sought to identify the philosophy of war, asymmetric warfare is a conflict between two populations of drastically different levels of military capability or size. Biological warfare, or germ warfare, is the use of weaponized biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, chemical warfare involves the use of weaponized chemicals in combat. Poison gas as a weapon was principally used during World War I. Civil war is a war between forces belonging to the nation or political entity. Conventional warfare is declared war between states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used or see limited deployment, cyberwarfare involves the actions by a nation-state or international organization to attack and attempt to damage another nations information systems. Information warfare is the application of force on a large scale against information assets and systems, against the computers. Nuclear warfare is warfare in which weapons are the primary, or a major. War of aggression is a war for conquest or gain rather than self-defense, the earliest recorded evidence of war belongs to the Mesolithic cemetery Site 117, which has been determined to be approximately 14,000 years old. About forty-five percent of the skeletons there displayed signs of violent death, since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago, military activity has occurred over much of the globe. The advent of gunpowder and the acceleration of technological advances led to modern warfare

12.
Kshatriya
–
Kshatriya is one of the four varna of the Hindu society. The Sanskrit term kshatriya is used in the context of Vedic society wherein members organised themselves into four classes, brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, traditionally, the kshatriya constituted the ruling and military elite. Their role was to protect society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime, the Prakrit derivative of Kshatriya is Khatri. The administrative machinery in the Rig Vedic period functioned with a chief called Rajan whose position was not hereditary. The king was elected in an assembly, which included women. The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle, was assisted by a priest, the concept of fourfold varna system was non-existent. The hymn Purusha Sukta to the Rigveda describes the history of the four varna. Since not all dark-skinned Indians was fully regulated under the varna in the vedic society, the term rajanya unlike the word kshatriya essentially denoted the status within a lineage. Whereas kshatra, means ruling, one of the ruling order, jaiswal points out the term Brahman rarely occurs in the Rig-veda with the exception of the Purusha Sukta and may not have been used for the priestly class. Based on the authority of Panini, Patanjali, Katyayana and the Mahabharata, Jayaswal believes that Rajanya was the name of a people and that the Rajanyas were, therefore. Some examples were the Andhaka and Vrsni Rajanyas who followed the system of elected rulers and this later gave rise to the idea of kingship. In the period of the Brahmanas there was ambiguity in the position of the varna, in the Panchavimsha Brahmana, the Rajanya are placed first, followed by Brahmana then Vaishya. In Shatapatha Brahmana 13.8.3.11, the Kshatriya are placed second, in Shatapatha Brahmana 1.1.4.12 the order is—Brahmana, Vaishya, Rajanya, Shudra. The order of the brahmanical tradition—Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra—became fixed from the time of dharmasutras, the kshatriya were often considered pre-eminent in Buddhist circles. Even among Hindu societies they were sometimes at rivalry with the Brahmins, the kshatriya caste constituted an aristocracy but were not always necessarily wealthy. Kings usually belonged to this caste and it was considered their duty to acquire a knowledge of weapons in addition to cultivating their aptitude for command, the science of weaponry was one of the 13 branches of learning which every educated kshatriya male was expected to study. Both the kings suite and the army were recruited from among this caste. Many kshatriya were authorised to take up a craft or trade rather than gaining their living as professional warriors and these families still retained the privileges accorded to their caste however, which included special forms of marriage which were their prerogative

13.
Chivalry
–
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is a code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood which developed between 1170 and 1220. The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries, the term chivalry derives from the Old French term chevalerie, which can be translated to horse soldiery. Gautier states that emerged from the Moors as well as the Teutonic forests and was nurtured into civilization. Over time, its meaning in Europe has been refined to emphasise social and moral virtues more generally, in origin, the term chivalry means horsemanship, formed in Old French, in the 11th century, from chevalier, from Medieval Latin caballārius. In English, the term appears from 1292, thus, chivalry has hierarchical meanings from simply a heavily armed horseman to a code of conduct. Based on the three treatises, initially chivalry was defined as a way of life in which three essential aspects fused together, the military, the nobility, the religion. Gautiers Ten Commandments of chivalry are, Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them. Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born, Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy. Thou shalt make war against the infidel without cessation and without mercy, Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God. Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word, Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to everyone. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right, though these ten commandments are often accepted to be what knights would use, these would not necessarily be what a knight actually followed in the medieval era. This code was created by Leon Gautier in 1883, long after the knight had ceased to exist in its traditional form. Chivalry in a sense was more of a subjective term. It is a version of the myth of the Golden Age, from Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi, We must not confound chivalry with the feudal system. The feudal system may be called the life of the period of which we are treating, possessing its advantages and inconveniences, its virtues. Chivalry, on the contrary, is the world, such as it existed in the imaginations of the Romance writers. Its essential character is devotion to woman and to honour, Sismondi alludes to the fictitious Arthurian romances about the imaginary Court of King Arthur, which were usually taken as factual presentations of a historical age of chivalry. He continues, The more closely we look into history, the more clearly shall we perceive that the system of chivalry is an invention almost entirely poetical and it is impossible to distinguish the countries in which it is said to have prevailed

14.
Moksha
–
Moksha, also called vimoksha, vimukti and mukti, is a term in Hinduism and Hindu philosophy which refers to various forms of emancipation, liberation, and release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, in its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha refers to freedom from ignorance, self-realization and self-knowledge. In Hindu traditions, moksha is a concept and included as one of the four aspects and goals of human life. Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha in Hinduism, the concept of moksha is found in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. In some schools of Indian religions, moksha is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with terms such as vimoksha, vimukti, kaivalya, apavarga, mukti, nihsreyasa. However, terms such as moksha and nirvana differ and mean different states between various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the term nirvana is more common in Buddhism, while moksha is more prevalent in Hinduism. Moksha is derived from the root Sanskrit, मुच्, muc, in Vedas and early Upanishads, the word Sanskrit, मुच्यते, mucyate appears, which means to be set free or release - such as of a horse from its harness. The definition and meaning of moksha varies between schools of Indian religions. Moksha means freedom, liberation, from what and how is where the schools differ, Moksha is also a concept that means liberation from rebirth or saṃsāra. This liberation can be attained while one is on earth, or eschatologically, some Indian traditions have emphasized liberation on concrete, ethical action within the world. This liberation is a transformation that permits one to see the truth. For example, Vivekachudamani - an ancient book on moksha, explains one of many steps on the path to moksha, as. Samsara originated with religious movements in the first millennium BCE and these movements such as Buddhism, Jainism and new schools within Hinduism, saw human life as bondage to a repeated process of rebirth. This bondage to repeated rebirth and life, each subject to injury, disease. By release from this cycle, the involved in this cycle also ended. This release was called moksha, nirvana, kaivalya, mukti, in earliest Vedic literature, heaven and hell sufficed soteriological curiosities. The rebirth idea ultimately flowered into the ideas of saṃsāra, or transmigration - where one’s balance sheet of karma determined one’s rebirth, along with this idea of saṃsāra, the ancient scholars developed the concept of moksha, as a state that released a person from the saṃsāra cycle. Moksha release in eschatological sense in these ancient literature of Hinduism, suggests van Buitenen, comes from self-knowledge, the meaning of moksha in epistemological and psychological sense has been variously explained by scholars

15.
Sanjaya
–
Sanjaya or Sanjaya Gavalgani is a character from the ancient Indian poetic epic Mahābhārata. In Mahabharata—an epic poem of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas—the blind king Dhritarashtra is the father of the principals of the Kaurava side, before this great war broke out, Sanjaya had gone to Yudhishtira as the Ambassador of Kauravas to negotiate on behalf of them. In the Bhagavad Gita, passages often start with the Sanskrit words Sanjaya uvāca, the entire Bhagavad Gita is Sanjays recital to Dhritarashtra of the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna. Sanjaya was the first person apart from Arjuna to listen to the Gita as it was being instructed

16.
Dhritarashtra
–
In the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra is the King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epics climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitraviryas first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Veda Vyasa, Dhritarashtra was blind from birth, and became father to one hundred sons by his wife Gandhari, with Yuyutsu. These children, including the eldest son Duryodhana, came to be known as the Kauravas, Dhritarashtra appears in Mahābhārata sections that have been circulated as separate scriptures, most notably the Bhagavad Gita, whose dialogue was narrated to him. With Vichitravirya having died of sickness, Bhishma unable to take the throne because of his vow, satyavati invites her son Vyasa to impregnate the queens Ambika and Ambalika under the Niyoga practice. When Vyasa went to impregnate Ambika, she got frightened due to his appearance and closed her eyes during their union, hence. Dhritarashtra, along with his younger half-brother Pandu is trained in the arts by Bhishma. Hindered by his handicap, Dhritarashtra is unable to wield weapons, when it came time to nominate an heir, Vidura suggested that Pandu would be a better fit because he wasnt blind. Though bitter at the result, Dhritarashtra willingly conceded the crown and he also had a son named Yuyutsu with Sauvali. Dhritarashtra becomes Pandus heir and rules when Pandu is not in Hastinapur, after the incident with Rishi Kindama Pandu retired to the forest. Hence, Dhritarashtra became the de facto king, through the blessings of Durvasa, he and Gandhari have one hundred sons and a daughter, with his oldest son, Duryodhana, becoming his heir. Upon Duryodhanas birth, ill omens appeared, many sages and consultants advised Dhritarashtra, but they refused to do so, Duryodhana grows up with a princely education and looks like he will be a great heir. However, when Pandu dies, Dhritarashtras brothers family comes to Hastinapur, Yudhishthira, Pandus eldest son, is older than Duryodhana. Given that Pandu was the king and that Yudhishthira is born of the god Dharma, a succession crisis begins, though recognizing Yudhishthiras merits, Dhritarashtra favours his own son, blind to his faults. Upon much pressure from the Brahmin council, Vidura, and Bhishma, after the lakshagraha incident, in which the Pandavas are apparently killed, Dhritarashtra mourns but is able to finally name Duryodhana as his heir. When the Pandavas are revealed to have survived, Duryodhana refuses to cede his title as heir when the obviously sour relations between the Kauravas and the Pandavas come to focus, Dhritarashtra splits the country in two, giving Hastinapur to Duryodhana and Khandavprastha to Yudhishthira. Shakuni, Gandharis brother, was a master of sorcery and he along with his nephew Duryodhana conspired in a game of dice and invited the Pandavas to gamble. The Pandavas eventually lost their kingdom, wealth, and prestige and were exiled for thirteen years, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, was humiliated in court after Dushasana tried to disrobe her. The helpless blind king only intervened after counseling with Gandhari when Draupadi was going to curse the Kuru dynasty, Lord Krishna as a peace emissary of Pandavas traveled to Hastinapura persuading Kauravas to avoid bloodshed of their own kin

17.
Bhakti
–
Bhakti literally means attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith or love, devotion, worship, piety. Bhakti, in Hinduism, refers to devotion and the love of a god or a representational god by a devotee. Bhakti in Indian religions is emotional devotionalism, particularly to a god or to spiritual ideas. The term also refers to a movement that arose between the 7th century and 10th century CE in India, focused on the gods Vishnu and Shiva, the Bhakti movement reached North India during the Delhi Sultanate era and grew throughout the Mughal era. It evolved the characteristics of Hinduism as the religion of the population as dhimmi under the Islamic rulers in parts of the Indian subcontinent. Bhakti-like movements also spread to other Indian religions during this period, the term bhakti, in the modern era, is used to refer to any tradition of Hindu devotionalism, including Shaivism, Vaishnavism, or Shaktism. The Bhagavata Purana is a associated with the Bhakti movement which elaborates the concept of bhakti as found in the Bhagavad Gita. Along with Hinduism, nirguni Bhakti is found in Sikhism, the Sanskrit word bhakti is derived from the root bhaj, which means divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to. The word also means attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, the meaning of the term Bhakti is analogous to but different from Kama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love, Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection. Karen Pechelis states that the word Bhakti should not be understood as uncritical emotion, one who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. It may refer to devotion towards a teacher as guru-bhakti, or to a personal god. The term Bhakti also refers to one of several alternate spiritual paths to moksha in Hinduism, the other paths are Jnana marga, Karma marga, Rāja marga. The term bhakti has been translated as devotion in Orientalist literature. The colonial era authors variously described Bhakti as a form of mysticism or primitive religious devotion of lay people with monotheistic parallels, however, modern scholars state devotion is a misleading and incomplete translation of bhakti. Bhakti in Indian religions is not a ritualistic devotion to a god or to religion and it involves, among other things, refining ones state of mind, knowing god, participating in god, and internalizing god. Increasingly, instead of devotion, the participation is appearing in scholarly literature as a gloss for the term bhakti. David Lorenzen states that bhakti is an important term in Sikhism and Hinduism and they both share numerous concepts and core spiritual ideas, but bhakti of nirguni is particularly significant in Sikhism

18.
Yoga
–
Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga, the chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra. Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th, in the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more physical exercise, it has a meditative. One of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as an intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma. On December 1,2016, Yoga was listed as UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage, in Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means to add, to join, to unite, or to attach in its most common senses. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, all further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as exertion, endeavour, zeal, there are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on such as connection, contact, union, method, application, addition. In simpler words, Yoga also means combined, thus, bhaktiyoga means devoted attachment in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a sense, meaning connection with a verb. But the same compound is given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras, designating the practical aspects of the philosophy. In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau is considered by commentators as the correct etymology. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras, according to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga or yuj samādhau. Someone who practices yoga or follows the philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi or yogini

19.
Jnana yoga
–
Jñāna yoga or Jnanamarga refers to the path of knowledge, also known as the path of self realization in Hinduism. It is one of the three classical paths or types of yoga for the liberation of the Atman, the jnanamarga ideas are discussed in ancient and medieval era Hindu scriptures and texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The jnana yoga is self-liberation through the pursuit of intellectual knowledge, the other two are karma yoga and bhakti yoga. The root jñā- is cognate to English know, as well as to the Greek γνώ-, Jnana is knowledge, and refers to any cognitive event that is correct and true over time. It particularly refers to knowledge inseparable from the experience of its object. In Hinduism, it is knowledge which gives Moksha, or spiritual release while alive or after death and this explanation in found in the ancient Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Jñāna yoga is the path towards attaining jnana and it is one of the three classical types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies, the other two being karma yoga and bhakti. In modern classifications, classical yoga, being called Raja yoga, is mentioned as a fourth one, of the three different paths to liberation, jnana marga and karma marga are the more ancient, traceable to Vedic era literature. All three paths are available to any Hindu, chosen based on inclination, aptitude and personal preference, the classical yoga emphasizes the practice of dhyana, and this is a part of all three classical paths in Hinduism, including jñāna yoga. The path of knowledge is intended for those who prefer philosophical reflection and it requires study, in the Upanishads, jnana yoga aims at the realization of the oneness of the individual self and the ultimate Self. In the Bhagavad Gita, jnana yoga is also referred to as buddhi yoga, the text considers jnana marga as the most difficult, slow, confusing for those who prefer it because it deals with formless reality, the avyakta. It is the path that intellectually oriented people tend to prefer, the chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita is dedicated to the general exposition of jnana yoga, while chapters 7 and 16 discuss its theological and axiological aspects. Krishna says that jñāna is the purest, and a discovery of ones Atman, Truly, in time, he who is perfected in yoga finds that in his own Atman. Classical Advaita Vedanta emphasises the path of Jnana Yoga to attain moksha, dispassion of fruits — The dispassionate indifference to the fruits, to enjoyments of objects or to the other worlds after rebirth. Manana refers to thinking on these discussions and contemplating over the ideas based on svadhyaya. Nididhyāsana refers to meditation, realization and consequent conviction of the truths, non-duality, both the theistic and monistic streams of Shaivism include jnana yoga ideas, along with those related to karma yoga, and in the case of Saiva Siddhanta ideas related to bhakti yoga. The Shaivism traditions do not consider necessary for practicing jnana yoga. Spirituality can be pursued along with life, according to Shaiva traditions

20.
Bhakti yoga
–
Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on the cultivation of love and devotion toward God. It has been defined as a practice of devotion toward God, solely motivated by the sincere, loving desire to please God, the origins of Bhakti can be seen in the upanishads, specifically the Shvetashvatara Upanishad. The Bhagavad Gita, and the Puranas are important scriptures that expound the philosophy of bhakti yoga, Hindu movements in which bhakti yoga is the main practice are called bhakti movements – the major schools of which are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term that signifies an attitude of devotion to a personal God which is similar to a number of relationships between humans, such as between lovers or friends. The difference is that in bhakti, the relationship is between a soul and a supersoul, Bhakti is a yogic path, in that the devotees aim is of loving union with God. While the exact form through which God is worshiped and the nature of the union varies between different schools, the essence of the practice displays remarkable homogeneity. The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada, śravaṇa, kīrtana, visnoh smaraṇa, pāda-sevana, arcana, vandana, dāsya, sākhya and these nine principles of devotional service are described as helping the devotee remain constantly in touch with God. The processes of japa and internal meditation on the aspirant devotees iṣṭa-devatā, the Indians spiritual teacher Meher Baba stated, Out of a number of practices which lead to the ultimate goal of humanity – God-Realisation – Bhakti Yoga is one of the most important. Almost the whole of humanity is concerned with Bhakti Yoga, which, in simple words, but it must be understood in all its true aspects, and not merely in a narrow and shallow sense, in which the term is commonly used and interpreted. The profound worship based on the ideals of philosophy and spirituality, prompted by divine love. Swami Sivananda wrote, “Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and it infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments, the devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge”. The ultimate goal in the practice of Bhakti yoga is to reach the state of rasa, the Bhagavad Gita is a cornerstone of Hindu bhakti theism, especially among Vaishnavists. The Bhagavad Gita stresses that love and innocent pure intentions are the most powerful forces in a devotees spiritual life. Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me, being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God. All these groups have great respect for the primary deities

21.
Karma yoga
–
Karma yoga, or the Yoga of action is a form of yoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the three paths to realization, karma yoga is the process of achieving perfection in selfless action, Karma Yoga is primarily the practice of selfless service to humanity whereby a spiritual seeker attempts to give their actions selflessly without hoping for merit, fame or glory. Practicing Karma Yoga eventually takes the seeker to the point of mental purification, oneness with humanity and inner peace by continually offering action selflessly to God, ultimately Karma Yoga practise brings true Knowledge of the Self and prepares one to be receptive to the divine light of God. The Practicing of the service in Karma Yoga is believed to lead with its purification of the mind and heart. In this practice, one is seen as being used as an instrument in the hands of God without expectation of reward in return, the Bhagavad Gita gives a summary of the karma yoga process. Their conversation is prompted by Arjuna as he is engulfed by sorrow and misgivings regarding the battle in which he has friends. In reply, Krishna then elucidates upon a number of philosophical yoga systems, one acts without being attached to the results of ones deeds. Simply put, one does not get involved in the action being performed, becoming overly excited. The result may be negative or positive, Geeta also talks about Meta-Karma Yoga. I. e. not getting irritated, annoyed or unhappy when one gets attached to the result even after trying to practice Karma Yoga, Krishna explains that work done without selfish expectations purifies ones mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason. Another important quotation from the Bhagavad Gita which elucidates karma yoga is योगः कर्मसु कौशलं॥, any conscious action is motivated by some expectation about the outcome, yet one is to be careful to not let this expectation be selfish in a certain sense. This is accomplished by surrendering ownership of action to Krishna and this surrender is called sattvika tyaga. The Shrivaishnava tradition formalizes this by recommending the chanting of a prior to the performance of any such significant karma. This shloka, with its meaning is given below, bhagavan eva svaniyamya sva-sheSha-bhUtena maya sva-ArAdhana-eka-prayojanAya idam <name of the karma> svasmai svaprItyai svayam eva karayati. This translates to, The auspicious deity, exerting control on himself, using me as an instrument, himself effects <name of the karma>, the same shloka may be repeated after the performance of the action, except one replaces karayati to karayitavAn to indicate past tense. The common refrain सर्वं श्री-कॄष्णार्पणमस्तु॥ is used for the same effect, as with a number of other philosophies in Hinduism, karma yoga is based on a general understanding of karma and reincarnation. It is believed that a man is born with certain tendencies and this process continues until the individual attains a zero balance, where in one achieves liberation. This liberation is called Moksha which is achieved if the Hindu breaks the cycle of Samsara and it can be achieved through Jnana Yoga

22.
Raja Yoga
–
Rāja yoga is a term with a variety of meanings depending on the context. In Sanskrit texts Raja yoga refers to the goal of yoga, the term also became a modern retronym, when in the 19th-century Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Since then, Rāja yoga has variously referred to as yoga, royal union, sahaj marg, classical yoga. Rāja means chief, best of its kind or king, Rāja yoga thus refers to chief, best of yoga. The historical use of the term Rāja yoga is found in other contexts, in ancient and medieval Sanskrit texts, it meant the highest state of yoga practice. Hatha Yoga Pradipika, for example, refers to Hathayoga as one of the ways to achieve Rāja yoga, the first known use of the phrase Rāja yoga occurs in a 16th-century commentary on a specific step in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. The Hindu scholar Dattatreya, in his medieval era Tantric work named Yogaśāstra, explains in 334 shlokas, principles of four yoga, Mantra yoga, Hatha yoga, Laya yoga and Raja yoga. Alain Daniélou states that Rāja yoga was, in the literature of Hinduism, one of five known methods of yoga, with the other four being Hatha yoga, Mantra yoga, Laya yoga. Daniélou translates it as Royal way to reintegration of Self with Universal Self, the term became a modern retronym when in the 19th-century Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. This sense of meaning is different from Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā, a text of the Natha sampradaya, similarly, Brahma Kumaris, a recent religious movement, teaches Rāja yoga that has very little to do with either the precepts of Hatha Yoga or Patañjalis Yoga Sūtras. This mixing of concepts has led to confusion in understanding historical, the Shaiva Yoga text, Amanaska, dated to be from the 12th century CE or earlier, is a dialogue between Vamadeva and deity Shiva. In the second chapter, the text mentions Raja yoga, and it states that it is so named because it enables the yogin to reach the illustrious king within oneself, the supreme Self. Raja yoga is declared as the goal and a state of samadhi, where one experiences nothing but the bliss of the undisturbed, the Raja yoga goal and state is synonymous with various terms, such as Amanaska, Unmani and Sahaj. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika asserts this as follows, Some medieval era Indian texts on Yoga list Rajayoga as one of many types of yoga, for example, the Sarvanga yoga pradipikå, a Braj-bhashya commentary by Sundardas, from the 17th-century, teach three tetrads of Yogas. Of these twelve, Sundardas states that Rajayoga is the best yoga, Raja yoga is a modern retronym introduced by Swami Vivekananda when he equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. After its circulation in the first half of 1st millennium CE, many Indian scholars reviewed it, then published their Bhāṣya on it, according to Axel Michaels, the Yoga Sutras are built upon fragments of texts and traditions from ancient India. According to Feuerstein, the Yoga Sutras are a condensation of two different traditions, namely eight limb yoga and action yoga, the kriya yoga part is contained in chapter 1, chapter 2 verse 1-27, chapter 3 except verse 54, and chapter 4. The eight limb yoga is described in chapter 2 verse 28-55, there are numerous parallels in the concepts in ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma schools of thought, particularly from 2nd century BCE to 1st century AD, notes Larson

23.
Samkhya
–
Samkhya or Sankhya is one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy. It is most related to the Yoga school of Hinduism, Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepts three of six pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include pratyakṣa, anumāṇa and śabda, sometimes described as one of the rationalist school of Indian philosophy, this ancient schools reliance on reason was neither exclusive nor strong. Sāmkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities, puruṣa and prakṛti, Jiva is that state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakṛti in some form. This fusion, state the Samkhya scholars, led to the emergence of buddhi, during the state of imbalance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage, particularly of the mind. The end of this imbalance, bondage is called liberation, or kaivalya, the existence of God or supreme being is not directly asserted, nor considered relevant by the Samkhya philosophers. Sāṃkhya denies the final cause of Ishvara, while the Samkhya school considers the Vedas as a reliable source of knowledge, it is an atheistic philosophy according to Paul Deussen and other scholars. A key difference between Samkhya and Yoga schools, state scholars, is that Yoga school accepts a personal, yet essentially inactive, Samkhya is known for its theory of guṇas. Everything, all forms and human beings, state Samkhya scholars, have these three guṇas, but in different proportions. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature, the Samkhya theory of guṇas was widely discussed, developed and refined by various schools of Indian philosophies, including Buddhism. Samkhyas philosophical treatises also influenced the development of theories of Hindu ethics. In the context of ancient Indian philosophies, Samkhya refers to the school in Hinduism based on systematic enumeration. The word samkhya means empirical or relating to numbers, some 19th and 20th century scholars suggested that Samkhya may have non-Vedic origins. For the Sankhya philosophy is, in its essence, not only atheistic, dandekar, similarly wrote in 1968, The origin of the Sankhya is to be traced to the pre-Vedic non-Aryan thought complex. Some scholars disagreed with this view, here – in Kaushitaki Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad – the germ are to be found two of the main ideas of classical Samkhya. More recent scholarship offers another perspective, Ruzsa in 2006, for example, states, Sāṅkhya has a very long history. Its roots go deeper than textual traditions allow us to see, the ancient Buddhist Aśvaghoṣa describes Arāḍa Kālāma, the teacher of the young Buddha as following an archaic form of Sāṅkhya. Anthony Warder in 2009, summarizes that Samkhya and Mīmāṃsā schools appear to have been established before Sramana traditions in India, speculations in the direction of the Samkhya can be found in the early Upanishads

24.
Bhagavata
–
In Hinduism a Bhagavata, is a devotee, worshipper or follower of Bhagavan namely God in His personal aspect. The form of worship is called bhakti which has the meaning of adoration, bhagavat or Bhagavan means the Adorable One, whereas Bhagavata indicates a worshiper of the Adorable One. It also refers to a devoted to worship of Krishna. According to some scholars, worship of Krishna emerged in the 1st century BC. However, Vaishnava traditionalists place it in the 4th century BC, in the ninth century CE Bhagavatism was already at least a millennium old and many disparate groups, all following the Bhagavata Purana could be found. Various lineages of Gopala worshipers developed into identifiable denominations, however, the unity that exists among these groups in belief and practice has given rise to the general term Krishnaism. Today the faith has a significant following outside of India as well, many places associated with Krishna such as Vrindavan attract millions of pilgrims each year who participate in religious festivals that recreate scenes from Krishnas life on Earth. Some believe that early Bhagavatism was enriched and transformed with powerful and it is believed that Bhagavatas borrowed or shared the attribute or title Purusa of their monotheistic deity from the philosophy of Sankhya. The philosophy was formulated by the end of the 4th century BC, some relate absorption by Brahmanism to be the characteristic of the second stage of the development of the Bhagavata tradition. It is believed that at this stage Krishna-Vāsudeva was identified with the deity of Vishnu, rulers onwards from Chandragupta II, Vikramaditya were known as parama Bhagavatas, or Bhagavata Vaishnavas. References to Vāsudeva also occur in early Sanskrit literature, taittiriya Aranyaka identifies him with Narayana and Vishnu. Pāṇini, ca. 4th century BCE, in his Ashtadhyayi explains the word Vāsudevaka as a Bhakta of Vāsudeva, a Gupta period research makes a clear mention of Vasudeva as the exclusive object of worship of a group of people, who are referred as bhagavatas. According to an opinion of scholars in Patanjalis time identification of Krishna with Vasudeva is an established fact as is surmised from a passage of the Mahabhasya –. In the recent times this often refer to a sect of Vaishnavas in West India. It is also a common greeting among the followers of Ramanujacharya and it can also be spelled Bhagavats and refer to a Buddhist concept. Bhagavata Sampradaaya is a very old tradition that respects all the darshana shastras & siddantas. It is neutral to any particular practices like only Vaishnava, Smarta, Shakta, Gaanapatya, and instructs to practice the rituals that is in accordance with Vedas. Bhagavata Purana Krishna Vaishnavism Svayam bhagavan Bhagavad Gita Heliodorus pillar Nava rasas Bhagavan Dahmen-Dallapiccola, Anna Libera, Dallapiccola, dictionary of Hindu lore and legend

25.
Purusha Sukta
–
Purusha sukta is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the Cosmic Being. One version of the suktam has 16 verses,15 in the meter. Some scholars state that verses of Purusha sukta are later interpolations to the Rigveda. The Purusha sukta gives a description of the unity of the universe. It presents the nature of Purusha or the cosmic being as both immanent in the world and yet transcendent to it. From this being, the sukta holds, the creative will proceeds which causes the projection of the universe in space. The Purusha sukta, in the verse, hints at the organic connectedness of the various classes of society. The Purusha is defined in verses 2 to 5 of the sukta and he is described as a being who pervades everything conscious and unconscious universally. All manifestation, in past present and future, is held to be the Purusha alone and it is also proclaimed that he transcends his creation. The immanence of the Purusha in manifestation and yet his transcendence of it is similar to the viewpoint held by panentheists, finally, his glory is held to be even greater than the portrayal in this sukta. Verses 5-15 hold the creation of the Rig Veda, creation is described to have started with the origination of Virat or the cosmic body from the Purusha. In Virat, omnipresent intelligence manifests itself which causes the appearance of diversity, in the verses following, it is held that Purusha through a sacrifice of himself, brings forth the avian, forest-dwelling and domestic animals, the three Vedas, the metres. Then follows a verse states that from his mouth, arms, thighs. This four varna-related verse is controversial and is believed by scholars, such as Max Müller, to be a corruption. After the verse, the states that the moon takes birth from the Purushas mind. Indra and Agni descend from his mouth and from his vital breath, the firmament comes from his navel, the heavens from his head, the earth from his feet and quarters of space from his ears. Through this creation, underlying unity of human, cosmic and divine realities is espoused, for all are seen arising out of original reality. The Purusha sukta holds that the world is created by and out of a Yajna or sacrifice of the Purusha, all forms of existence are held to be grounded in this primordial Yajna

26.
Yajna
–
Yajna literally means sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering, and refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda, the tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire. Yajna rituals-related texts have been called the Karma-kanda portion of the Vedic literature, the proper completion of Yajna-like rituals was the focus of Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. Yajna have continued to play a role in a Hindus rites of passage. Modern major Hindu temple ceremonies, Hindu community celebrations, or monastic initiations may also include Yajna vedic rites, the word yajna appears in the early Vedic literature, composed in 2nd millennium BCE. In Rigveda, Yajurveda and others, it means worship, devotion to anything, prayer and praise, an act of worship or devotion, a form of offering or oblation, and sacrifice. In post-Vedic literature, the term meant any form of rite, a Yajna included major ceremonial devotions, with or without a sacred fire, sometimes with feasts and community events. It is derived, states Nigal, from the Sanskrit verb yaj, the Sanskrit word is related to the Avestan term yasna of Zoroastrianism. Unlike the Vedic yajna, the Yasna is the name of a religious service, not a class of rituals. Yajna has been a part of an individual or social ritual since the Vedic times, when the ritual fire – the divine Agni, the god of fire and the messenger of gods – were deployed in a Yajna, mantras were chanted. The hymns and songs sung and oblations offered into the fire were a form of hospitality for the Vedic gods, the Vedangas, or auxiliary sciences attached to the Vedic literature, define Yajna as follows, Definition of a Vedic sacrifice — Apastamba Yajna Paribhasa-sutras 1. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad in verse 1.5.14, for example, uses the analogy of Yajna materials to explain the means to see ones soul and God, with inner rituals and without external rituals. Vedic yajnas are performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar. The functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations, the Adhvaryu is the priests assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground, building the altar explained in the Yajurveda. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin is the superintendent of the performance, and is responsible for correcting mistakes by means of supplementary verses. There were usually one, or three, fires lit in the center of the offering ground, oblations are offered into the fire. Among the ingredients offered as oblations in the yajna are ghee, milk, grains, cakes, the duration of a yajna depends on its type, some last only a few minutes whereas, others are performed over a period of hours, days or even months

27.
Vedanta
–
Vedanta or Uttara Mīmāṃsā is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. It represents the divergent philosophical views of more than 10 schools—all developed on the basis of a textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi. The Prasthanatrayi is a term for the Principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras. Vedanta does not stand for one comprehensive or unifying doctrine, over time, Vedanta adopted ideas from other orthodox schools like Yoga and Nyaya, and, through this syncretism, became the most prominent school of Hinduism. Many extant forms of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism have been shaped and influenced by the doctrines of different schools of Vedanta. The word Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas and originally referred to the Upanishads, Vedanta was concerned with the jñānakāṇḍa or Vedic knowledge part called the Upanishads. The denotation of Vedanta subsequently widened to include the philosophical traditions based on to the Prasthanatrayi. The Upanishads may be regarded as the end of Vedas in different senses and these mark the culmination of Vedic thought. These were taught and debated last, in the Brahmacharya stage, Vedanta is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. It is also called Uttara Mīmāṃsā, the latter enquiry or higher enquiry, and is contrasted with Pūrva Mīmāṃsā. Pūrva Mīmāṃsā deals with the karmakāṇḍa or rituals part in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita and the Brahma Sutras constitute the basis of Vedanta. All schools of Vedanta propound their philosophy by interpreting these texts, collectively called the Prasthanatrayi, literally, the Upanishads, or Śruti prasthāna, considered the Sruti foundation of Vedanta. The Brahma Sutras, or Nyaya prasthana / Yukti prasthana, considered the foundation of Vedanta. The Bhagavad Gita, or Smriti prasthāna, considered the Smriti foundation of Vedanta, the Brahma Sutras attempted to synthesize the teachings of the Upanishads. The diversity in the teaching of the Upanishads necessitated the systematization of these teachings and this was likely done in many ways in ancient India, but the only surviving version of this synthesis is the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana. The Bhagavad Gita, due to its syncretism of Samkhya, Yoga, the Upanishads do not present a rigorous philosophical inquiry in the form of identifying various doctrines and then presenting arguments for or against them. They form the basic texts and Vedanta interprets them through rigorous philosophical exegesis, varying interpretations of the Upanishads and their synthesis, the Brahma Sutras, led to the development of different schools of Vedanta over time of which three, four, five or six are prominent. Some scholars are inclined to consider it as a rather than a school of Vedanta

28.
Brahman
–
In Hinduism, Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient and it is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe. Brahman is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and it is conceptualized in Hinduism, states Paul Deussen, Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas, and it is extensively discussed in the early Upanishads. The Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle, in the Upanishads, it has been variously described as Sat-cit-ānanda and as the unchanging, permanent, highest reality. Brahman is discussed in Hindu texts with the concept of Atman, personal, impersonal or Para Brahman, or in various combinations of these qualities depending on the philosophical school. In dualistic schools of Hinduism such as the theistic Dvaita Vedanta, Brahman is different from Atman in each being, Brahman is thus a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the deity. Brahman is referred to as the supreme self, puligandla states it as the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world, while Sinar states Brahman is a concept that cannot be exactly defined. In Vedic Sanskrit, Brahma, brahman from root bṛh-, means to be or make firm, strong, solid, expand, promote. Brahmana, from stems brha + Sanskrit -man- from Indo-European root -men- which denotes some manifested form of power, inherent firmness. In later Sanskrit usage, Brahma, brahman means the concept of the transcendent and immanent ultimate reality, the concept is central to Hindu philosophy, especially Vedanta, this is discussed below. Brahm is another variant of Brahman, Brahmā, Brahman, means the deity or deva Prajāpati Brahmā. He is one of the members of the Hindu trinity and associated with creation, but does not have a cult in present-day India. This is because Brahmā, the creator-god, is long-lived but not eternal i. e. Brahmā gets absorbed back into Purusha at the end of an aeon, and is born again at the beginning of a new kalpa. These are distinct from, A brāhmaṇa, is a commentary on the Vedic mantras—an integral part of the Vedic literature. A brāhmaṇa, means priest, in this usage the word is rendered in English as Brahmin. This usage is found in the Atharva Veda. Ishvara, in Advaita, is identified as a partial manifestation of the ultimate reality

29.
Advaita Vedanta
–
Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the soul is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality, Advaita Vedanta traces its roots in the oldest Upanishads. It relies on three textual sources called the Prasthanatrayi and it gives a unifying interpretation of the whole body of Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita. Advaita Vedanta is the oldest extant sub-school of Vedanta, which is one of the six orthodox Hindu philosophies, though its roots trace back to the 1st millennium BCE, the most prominent exponent of the Advaita Vedanta is considered by the tradition to be 8th century scholar Adi Shankara. Advaita Vedanta emphasizes Jivanmukti, the idea that moksha is achievable in this life in contrast to Indian philosophies that emphasize Videhamukti, Advaita Vedanta is one of the most studied and most influential schools of classical Indian thought. Many scholars describe it as a form of monism, others describe the Advaita philosophy as non-dualistic, beyond Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta interacted and developed with the other traditions of India such as Jainism and Buddhism. Advaita Vedanta texts espouse a spectrum of views from idealism, including illusionism, in modern times, its views appear in various Neo-Vedanta movements. It has been termed as the example of Hindu spirituality. The Advaita Vedanta school has referred to historically by various names, such as Advaita-vada, Abheda-darshana, Dvaita-vada-pratisedha. According to Richard King, a professor of Buddhist and Asian studies, traditional Advaita Vedanta centers on the study of the sruti especially the Principal Upanishads, along with the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Within the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism are many sub-schools, of which Advaita is one, unlike Buddhism, but like Jainism, all Vedanta schools consider the existence of Atman as self evident. The Vedanta tradition also posits the concept of Brahman as the eternal, the sub-schools of Vedanta disagree on the relation between Atman and Brahman. The Advaita darsana considers them to be identical, Advaita Vedanta believes that the knowledge of ones true self or Atman is liberating. Correct knowledge, which destroys avidya, psychological and perceptual errors related to Atman and Brahman, is obtained through three stages of practice, sravana, manana and nididhyasana, the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism rejects the dualism of Samkhya. Advaita, like all Vedanta schools, states that Brahman is both the efficient and the cause, that from which the origination, subsistence. What created all existence is also present in and reflected in all beings and inert matter and this Brahman it postulates is sat-cit-ananda. Second, how did cit Brahman create material world, third, if ananda Brahman is pure bliss, why did the empirical world of sufferings arise. These are the questions that Advaita Vedanta thinkers have historically attempted to answer, Advaita establishes its truths, in part, from the oldest Principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and numerous other Hindu texts

30.
Vishishtadvaita
–
Vishishtadvaita, the philosophy of the Sri Sampradaya, is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas, primarily the word Vedanta stood for Upanishads, afterwords, its denotation widened to include all thoughts developed out of the Upanishads. VishishtAdvaita is a school of Vedanta philosophy. It is non-dualism of the whole, in which Brahman alone exists. It can be described as qualified monism or qualified non-dualism or attributive monism and it is a school of Vedanta philosophy which believes in all diversity subsuming to an underlying unity. Vedanta Desika defines Vishishtadvaita using the statement, Asesha Chit-Achit Prakaaram Brahmaikameva Tatvam, Brahman, the Vishishtadvaitic thought is considered to have existed for a long time, and it is surmised that the earliest works are no longer available. The names of the earliest of these philosophers is only known through Ramanujas Veda artha Sangraha, in the line of the philosophers considered to have expounded the VisishtAdvaitic system, the prominent ones are Bodhayana, Dramida, Tanka, Guhadeva, Kapardi and Bharuci. Besides these philosophers, Ramanujas teacher Yamunacharya is credited with laying the foundation for what culminates as the Sri Bhasya, Bodhayana is considered to have written an extensive vritti on the Purva and Uttara Mimamsas. Tanka is attributed with having written commentaries on Chandogya Upanishad and Brahma Sutras, nathamuni of the ninth century AD, the foremost Acharya of the Vaishnavas, collected the Tamil prabandhas, classified them, made the redaction, set the hymns to music and spread them everywhere. Ramanuja is the proponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy. The philosophy itself is considered to have existed long before Ramanujas time, Ramanuja continues along the line of thought of his predecessors while expounding the knowledge expressed in the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita. Swaminarayan, the founder of Swaminarayan Hinduism, also propagated this philosophy, there are three key principles of Vishishtadvaita, Tattva, The knowledge of the 3 real entities namely, jiva, ajiva and Ishvara. Hita, The means of realization, as through bhakti and prapatti, purushartha, The goal to be attained, as moksha or liberation from bondage. Pramana refers to the knowledge, arrived at by thorough reasoning. Pramana forms one part of a triputi, perception refers to knowledge obtained by cognition of external objects based on sensory perception. In modern-day usage this will also include knowledge obtained by means of observation through scientific instruments since they are an extension of perception, anumana — the knowledge gained by means of inference. Inference refers to knowledge obtained by deductive reasoning and analysis, Shabda — the knowledge gained by means of shruti. Shruti refers to knowledge gained from scriptures - primarily the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, when an issue cannot be settled through sensory perception alone, it is settled based on inference, that is, whichever is the more logical argument

31.
Indian independence movement
–
The Indian independence movement encompassed activities and ideas aiming to end the East India Company rule and the British Indian Empire in the Indian subcontinent. The movement spanned a total of 190 years, the early part of the 20th century saw a more radical approach towards political self-rule proposed by leaders such as the Lal, Bal, Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai. The last stages of the struggle from the 1920s onwards saw Congress adopt Mohandas Karamchand Gandhis policy of nonviolence and civil resistance. Nationalist like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar preached armed revolution to achieve self-rule, feminists such as Sarojini Naidu and Begum Rokeya promoted the emancipation of Indian women and their participation in national politics. Babasaheb Ambedkar championed the cause of the sections of Indian society within the larger self-rule movement. The period of the Second World War saw the peak of the campaigns by the Quit India Movement led by Congress, the Indian self-rule movement was a mass-based movement that encompassed various sections of society. It also underwent a process of constant ideological evolution, in 1971, East Pakistan declared independence as the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. European traders first reached Indian shores with the arrival of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498 AD at the port of Calicut, in search of the lucrative spice trade. Just over a century later, the Dutch and English established trading outposts on the subcontinent, the decline of the Mughal empire in the first half of the eighteenth century provided the British with the opportunity to establish a firm foothold in Indian politics. After the defeat of Tipu Sultan, most of South India came either under the Companys direct rule, the Company subsequently gained control of regions ruled by the Maratha Empire, after defeating them in a series of wars. The Punjab was annexed in 1849, after the defeat of the Sikh armies in the First, in 1835, English was made the medium of instruction in Indias schools and many Indians increasingly disliked British rule. With the British now dominating most of the subcontinent, many British increasingly disregarded local customs, Puli Thevan was one of the opponents of the British rule in India. He was in conflict with the Nawab of Arcot who was supported by the British and his prominent exploits were his confrontations with Marudhanayagam, who later rebelled against the British in the late 1750s and early 1760s. Nelkatumseval the present Tirunelveli Dist of Tamil Nadu state of India was the headquarters of Puli Thevan, kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja was one of the earliest freedom fighters in India. He was the regent of the princely state of Kottiyur or Cotiote in North Malabar, near Kannur. He fought a war with tribal people from Wynad supporting him. He was caught by the British and his fort was razed to the ground, Rani Velu Nachiyar, was a queen of Indian Sivaganga in 1760–1790. She was the first queen to fight against the British in India, Rani Nachiyar was trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam, horse riding and archery

32.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
–
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and an independence activist. He was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement, the British colonial authorities called him Father of the Indian unrest. He was also conferred with the title of Lokmanya, which means accepted by the people, Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj and a strong radical in Indian consciousness. He is known for his quote in Marathi, स्वराज्य हा माझा जन्मसिद्ध हक्क आहे आणि तो मी मिळवणारच in India. He formed an alliance with many Indian National Congress leaders including Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghose, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai. Tilak was born in a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, in headquarters of the eponymous district of present-day Maharashtra on 23 July 1856. His father, Gangadhar Tilak was a teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen. Tilak graduated from Deccan College, Pune in 1877, Tilak was amongst one of the first generation of Indians to receive a college education. In 1871 Tilak was married to Tapibai when he was sixteen, after marriage, her name was changed to Satyabhamabai. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in first class in Mathematics from Deccan College of Pune in 1877. He left his M. A. course of study midway to join the L. L. B course instead, after graduating, Tilak started teaching mathematics at a private school in Pune. Later, due to differences with the colleagues in the new school, he withdrew. Tilak actively participated in public affairs and he stated, Religion and practical life are not different. To take Sanyas is not to abandon life, the real spirit is to make the country your family work together instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to humanity and the next step is to serve God. He organised the Deccan Education Society with a few of his friends, including Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi. Their goal was to improve the quality of education for Indias youth, the Deccan Education Society was set up to create a new system that taught young Indians nationalist ideas through an emphasis on Indian culture. The Society established the New English School for secondary education and Fergusson College in 1885 for post-secondary studies, Tilak taught mathematics at Fergusson College

33.
Mahatma Gandhi
–
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights, the honorific Mahatma —applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa—is now used worldwide. In India, he is also called Bapu and Gandhiji and he is unofficially called the Father of the Nation. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, Gandhi famously led Indians in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for years, upon many occasions, in both South Africa and India. Gandhi attempted to practise nonviolence and truth in all situations, and he lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn hand-spun on a charkha. He ate simple food, and also undertook long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest. Eventually, in August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab, eschewing the official celebration of independence in Delhi, Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to provide solace. In the months following, he undertook several fasts unto death to promote religious harmony, the last of these, undertaken on 12 January 1948 when he was 78, also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan. Some Indians thought Gandhi was too accommodating, among them was Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, who assassinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948 by firing three bullets into his chest. Mahatma Gandhis birthday,2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday and his father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi, served as the diwan of Porbandar state. The Gandhi family originated from the village of Kutiana in what was then Junagadh State, in the late 17th or early 18th century, one Lalji Gandhi moved to Porbandar and entered the service of its ruler, the Rana. In 1831, Rana Khimojiraji died suddenly and was succeeded by his 12-year-old only son, as a result, Rana Khimojirajjis widow, Rani Rupaliba, became regent for her son. She soon fell out with Uttamchand and forced him to return to his village in Junagadh. While in Junagadh, Uttamchand appeared before its Nawab and saluted him with his hand instead of his right. In 1841, Vikmatji assumed the throne and reinstated Uttamchand as his diwan, in 1847, Rana Vikmatji appointed Uttamchands son, Karamchand, as diwan after disagreeing with Uttamchand over the states maintenance of a British garrison. Although he only had an education and had previously been a clerk in the state administration

34.
Hindu texts
–
Hindu texts are manuscripts and historic literature related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as Hindu scriptures and these include the Vedas and the Upanishads. There are two classifications of Hindu texts, Shruti – that which is heard, and Smriti – that which is remembered. The Śruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts, without any author and it includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads. The Smriti texts are a body of Hindu texts attributed to an author. Many ancient and medieval Hindu texts were composed in Sanskrit, many others in regional Indian languages, in modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other Indian languages and some in Western languages. This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to next, the Vedas are a large body of Hindu texts originating in ancient India, before about 300 BCE. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means not of a man, superhuman and impersonal, authorless. Vedas are also called śruti literature, distinguishing them from religious texts. The Veda, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations, in the Hindu Epic the Mahabharata, the creation of Vedas is credited to Brahma. There are four Vedas, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the Samhitas, the Aranyakas, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads. The Upanishads are a collection of Hindu texts which contain some of the philosophical concepts of Hinduism. The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedānta, variously interpreted to either the last chapters, parts of the Veda or the object. The concepts of Brahman and Ātman are central ideas in all the Upanishads, the Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions. Of the Vedic corpus, they alone are known. More than 200 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the principal or main Upanishads. The mukhya Upanishads are found mostly in the part of the Brahmanas and Aranyakas and were, for centuries, memorized by each generation. The early Upanishads all predate the Common Era, some in all likelihood pre-Buddhist, of the remainder, some 95 Upanishads are part of the Muktika canon, composed from about the start of common era through medieval Hinduism

35.
Vedas
–
The Vedas are a large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means not of a man, superhuman and impersonal, authorless. Vedas are also called śruti literature, distinguishing them from religious texts. The Veda, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation, in the Hindu Epic the Mahabharata, the creation of Vedas is credited to Brahma. The Vedic hymns themselves assert that they were created by Rishis, after inspired creativity. There are four Vedas, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the Samhitas, the Aranyakas, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads. Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upasanas, the various Indian philosophies and denominations have taken differing positions on the Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy which cite the Vedas as their authority are classified as orthodox. Other śramaṇa traditions, such as Lokayata, Carvaka, Ajivika, Buddhism and Jainism, despite their differences, just like the texts of the śramaṇa traditions, the layers of texts in the Vedas discuss similar ideas and concepts. The Sanskrit word véda knowledge, wisdom is derived from the root vid- to know and this is reconstructed as being derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *u̯eid-, meaning see or know. The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *u̯eidos, cognate to Greek εἶδος aspect, not to be confused is the homonymous 1st and 3rd person singular perfect tense véda, cognate to Greek οἶδα oida I know. Root cognates are Greek ἰδέα, English wit, etc, the Sanskrit term veda as a common noun means knowledge. The term in some contexts, such as hymn 10.93.11 of the Rigveda, means obtaining or finding wealth, property, a related word Vedena appears in hymn 8.19.5 of the Rigveda. It was translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith as ritual lore, as studying the Veda by the 14th century Indian scholar Sayana, as bundle of grass by Max Müller, Vedas are called Maṛai or Vaymoli in parts of South India. Marai literally means hidden, a secret, mystery, in some south Indian communities such as Iyengars, the word Veda includes the Tamil writings of the Alvar saints, such as Divya Prabandham, for example Tiruvaymoli. The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts, the Samhitas date to roughly 1700–1100 BC, and the circum-Vedic texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c. 1000-500 BC, resulting in a Vedic period, spanning the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BC, or the Late Bronze Age, Michael Witzel gives a time span of c.1500 to c. Witzel makes special reference to the Near Eastern Mitanni material of the 14th century BC the only record of Indo-Aryan contemporary to the Rigvedic period

36.
Rigveda
–
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. The text is a collection of 1,028 hymns and 10,600 verses, a good deal of the language is still obscure and many hymns as a consequence seem unintelligible. The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities, for each deity series the hymns progress from longer to shorter ones, and the number of hymns per book increases. In the eight books that were composed the earliest, the hymns predominantly discuss cosmology, Rigveda is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. 1700–1100 BC has also been given, some of its verses continue to be recited during Hindu rites of passage celebrations such as weddings and religious prayers, making it probably the worlds oldest religious text in continued use. This redaction also included some additions and orthoepic changes to the Vedic Sanskrit such as the regularization of sandhi, the Padapatha and the Pratisakhya anchor the texts fidelity and meaning, and the fixed text was preserved with unparalleled fidelity for more than a millennium by oral tradition alone. In order to achieve this the oral tradition prescribed very structured enunciation, involving breaking down the Sanskrit compounds into stems and inflections and this interplay with sounds gave rise to a scholarly tradition of morphology and phonetics. The Rigveda was probably not written down until the Gupta period, the oral tradition still continued into recent times. The text is organized in 10 books, known as Mandalas, of varying age, the family books, mandalas 2–7, are the oldest part of the Rigveda and the shortest books, they are arranged by length and account for 38% of the text. Within each book, the hymns are arranged in collections each dealing with a deity, Agni comes first, Indra comes second. They are attributed and dedicated to a rishi and his family of students, within each collection, the hymns are arranged in descending order of the number of stanzas per hymn. If two hymns in the collection have equal numbers of stanzas then they are arranged so that the number of syllables in the metre are in descending order. The second to seventh mandalas have a uniform format, the eighth and ninth mandalas, comprising hymns of mixed age, account for 15% and 9%, respectively. The first and the tenth mandalas are the youngest, they are also the longest books, of 191 suktas each, however, adds Witzel, some hymns in Mandala 8,1 and 10 may be as old as the earlier Mandalas. The first mandala has an arrangement not found in the other nine mandalas. The ninth mandala is arranged by both its structure and hymn length, while the first eighty four hymns of the tenth mandala have a structure different than the remaining hymns in it. Each mandala consists of hymns called sūkta intended for various rituals, the sūktas in turn consist of individual stanzas called ṛc, which are further analysed into units of verse called pada

37.
Yajurveda
–
The Yajurveda is the Veda of prose mantras. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajna fire, Yajurveda is one of the four Vedas, and one of the scriptures of Hinduism. The exact century of Yajurvedas composition is unknown, and estimated by scholars to be around 1200 to 1000 BCE, the Yajurveda is broadly grouped into two – the black Yajurveda and the white Yajurveda. The term black implies the un-arranged, unclear, motley collection of verses in Yajurveda, in contrast to the white which implies the well arranged, the black Yajurveda has survived in four recensions, while two recensions of white Yajurveda have survived into the modern times. The earliest and most ancient layer of Yajurveda samhita includes about 1,875 verses, the middle layer includes the Satapatha Brahmana, one of the largest Brahmana texts in the Vedic collection. The youngest layer of Yajurveda text includes the largest collection of primary Upanishads and these include the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Isha Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitri Upanishad. Yajurveda is a compound Sanskrit word, composed of yajus and veda, monier-Williams translates yajus as religious reverence, veneration, worship, sacrifice, a sacrificial prayer, formula, particularly mantras muttered in a peculiar manner at a sacrifice. Johnson states yajus means prose formulae or mantras, contained in the Yajur Veda, michael Witzel interprets Yajurveda to mean a knowledge text of prose mantras used in Vedic rituals. Ralph Griffith interprets the name to mean knowledge of sacrifice or sacrificial texts, carl Olson states that Yajurveda is a text of mantras that are repeated and used in rituals. The Yajurveda text includes Shukla Yajurveda of which about 16 recensions are known, only two recensions of the Shukla Yajurveda have survived, Madhyandina and Kanva, and others are known by name only because they are mentioned in other texts. These two recensions are nearly the same, except for few differences, in contrast to Shukla Yajurveda, the four surviving recensions of Krishna Yajurveda are very different versions. The samhita in the Shukla Yajurveda is called the Vajasaneyi Samhita, the name Vajasaneyi is derived from Vajasaneya, patronymic of sage Yajnavalkya, and the founder of the Vajasaneyi branch. There are two surviving recensions of the Vajasaneyi Samhita, Vajasaneyi Madhyandina and Vajasaneyi Kanva, there are four surviving recensions of the Krishna Yajurveda – Taittirīya saṃhitā, Maitrayani saṃhitā, Kaṭha saṃhitā and Kapiṣṭhala saṃhitā. A total of eighty six recensions are mentioned to exist in Vayu Purana, the Katha school is referred to as a sub-school of Carakas in some ancient texts of India, because they did their scholarship as they wandered from place to place. The best known and best preserved of these recensions is the Taittirīya saṃhitā, some attribute it to Tittiri, a pupil of Yaksa and mentioned by Panini. The text is associated with the Taittiriya school of the Yajurveda, the Kāṭhaka saṃhitā or the Caraka-Kaṭha saṃhitā, according to tradition was compiled by Katha, a disciple of Vaisampayana. Like the Maitrayani Samhita, it offers more detailed discussion of some rituals than the younger Taittiriya samhita that frequently summarizes such accounts. The Kapiṣṭhala saṃhitā or the Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha saṃhitā, named after the sage Kapisthala is extant only in some large fragments and this text is practically a variant of the Kāṭhaka saṃhitā

38.
Atharvaveda
–
The Atharva is the knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas, the procedures for everyday life. The text is the fourth Veda, but has been an addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. The Atharvaveda is composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and it is a collection of 730 hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books. About a sixth of the Atharvaveda text adapts verses from the Rigveda, and except for Books 15 and 16, two different recensions of the text – the Paippalāda and the Śaunakīya – have survived into modern times. Reliable manuscripts of the Paippalada edition were believed to have been lost, the Atharvaveda is sometimes called the Veda of magical formulas, an epithet declared to be incorrect by other scholars. Many books of the Atharvaveda Samhita are dedicated to rituals without magic, the text, states Kenneth Zysk, is one of oldest surviving record of the evolutionary practices in religious medicine and reveals the earliest forms of folk healing of Indo-European antiquity. It was likely compiled as a Veda contemporaneously with Samaveda and Yajurveda, along with the Samhita layer of text, the Atharvaveda includes a Brahmana text, and a final layer of the text that covers philosophical speculations. The latter layer of Atharvaveda text includes three primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy and these include the Mundaka Upanishad, the Mandukya Upanishad and the Prashna Upanishad. Monier Williams notes that the now obsolete term for fire used to be Athar, the name Atharvaveda, states Laurie Patton, is for the text being Veda of the Atharvāṇas. The oldest name of the text, according to its own verse 10.7.20, was Atharvangirasah, each school called the text after itself, such as Saunakiya Samhita, meaning the compiled text of Saunakiya. The Atharvan and Angiras names, states Maurice Bloomfield, imply different things, over time, the positive auspicious side came to be celebrated and the name Atharva Veda became widespread. The latter name Angiras which is linked to Agni and priests in the Vedas, states George Brown, michael Witzel states Atharvan roots may be *atharwan or priest, sorcerer, with links to Avestan āθrauuan priest and Tocharian <*athr, superior force. The Atharvaveda is also referred to as Bhrgvangirasah and Brahmaveda, after Bhrigu. The Atharvaveda is a collection of 20 books, with a total of 730 hymns of about 6,000 stanzas. The Caraṇavyuha, a later era Sanskrit text, states that the Atharvaveda had nine shakhas, or schools, paippalāda, stauda, mauda, śaunakīya, jājala, jalada, brahmavada, devadarśa and cāraṇavaidyā. Of these, only the Shaunakiya recension, and the recently discovered manuscripts of Paippalāda recension have survived. The Paippalāda edition is more ancient, the two recensions differ in how they are organized, as well as content. For example, the Book 10 of Paippalada recension is more detailed, more developed and more conspicuous in describing monism, the concept of oneness of Brahman, all life forms, the Atharvaveda Samhita originally was organized into 18 books, and the last two were added later

Kurukshetra
–
Kurukshetra is a city in the state of Haryana, India. It is also known as Dharmakshetra, according to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is a region named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas, as depicted in epic Mahabharata. The population of Kurukshetra was 964,655 in 2016, before the establishment of a refugee camp named Kurukshetra in 1

1.
Bronze Chariot with Lord Krishna and Arjuna in Kurukshetra.

2.
A manuscript of Mahabharata depicting the war at Kurukshetra

3.
The majestic statue of Arjun at the Arjun Chowk.

4.
Braham Sarovar

Hinduism
–
Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu syn

1.
Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.

3.
The Rigveda is the first and most important Veda and is one of the oldest religious texts. This Rigveda manuscript is in Devanagari.

4.
A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical Hindu wedding is solemnized before Vedic fire ritual (shown).

Sanskrit
–
Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for wh

1.
Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century

2.
Devi Mahatmya palm-leaf manuscript in an early Bhujimol script, Bihar or Nepal, 11th century

3.
A poem by the ancient Indian poet Vallana (ca. 900 – 1100 CE) on the side wall of a building at the Haagweg 14 in Leiden, Netherlands

4.
Kashmir Shaiva manuscript in the Śāradā script (c. 17th century)

Sanskrit language
–
Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for wh

1.
Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century

2.
The word saṃskṛtam written in Devanagari.

3.
Devi Mahatmya palm-leaf manuscript in an early Bhujimol script, Bihar or Nepal, 11th century

4.
A poem by the ancient Indian poet Vallana (ca. 900 – 1100 CE) on the side wall of a building at the Haagweg 14 in Leiden, Netherlands

Bhagavan
–
In north India, Bhagavān also represents the concept of abstract God to Hindus who are religious but do not worship a specific deity. The term Bhagavān does not appear in Vedas, nor in early or middle Upanishads, the oldest Sanskrit texts use the term Brahman to represent an abstract Supreme Soul, Absolute Reality, while using names of deities like

1.
Bhagvan Krishna

2.
Heliodorus Khamba (pillar) in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Installed about 100 BCE, the pillar's Brahmi-script inscription states that Heliodorus is a Bhagvatena (devotee) of Vishnu.

Shloka
–
Shloka is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh poetic meter. It is the basis for Indian epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, for example, are written almost exclusively in shlokas. The traditional view is that form of verse was involuntaril

1.
General

Pandava
–
In the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic text, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri, who was the princess of Madra. Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, all five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi. Together the brothers fought and prevailed in a war against their

1.
Draupadi and the Pandavas

2.
Pandavs Journeying With Their Mother

3.
Arjuna shooting at the eye of a fish to win Draupadi in marriage, Kalighat painting

4.
The Five Pandavas in Wayang form. From left to right: Bhima, Arjuna, Yudhishthira, Nakula, and Sahadeva. Indonesia Museum, Jakarta.

Arjuna
–
Arjuna along with Krishna is the protagonist of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita alongside Krishna. He was an archer and a warrior accompanied by Lord Krishna, Arjuna was the son of Indra- the king of celestials, born in Kunti - the first wife of King Pandu in Kuru kingdom. In previous birth he was a sai

1.
Arjuna

2.
Boon of Indra to Kunti

3.
the Swayamvara of Panchala's princess, Draupadi

4.
Srikrishna offer to build a palace, to mayasura

Lord Krishna
–
Krishna is the god of compassion, tenderness and love in Hinduism. He is one of the most widely revered and popular Indian divinities, worshipped as the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Krishnas birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, Krishna is also known by numerous names, such as

1.
Statue of Lord Krishna

2.
14th-century fresco of Krishna on the interior wall of City Palace, Udaipur

Dharma
–
Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages, in Buddhism dharma means cosmic law and order, but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for phenomena

1.
Rituals and rites of passage

2.
Sannyasa and stages of life

3.
Above rock inscription is from Indian Emperor Asoka, from 258 BC, and found in Afghanistan. The inscription renders the word Dharma in Sanskrit as Eusebeia in Greek, suggesting Dharma in ancient India meant spiritual maturity, devotion, piety, duty towards and reverence for human community.

4.
Sikhism

War
–
War is a state of armed conflict between societies. It is generally characterized by extreme aggression, destruction, and mortality, an absence of war is usually called peace. Warfare refers to the activities and characteristics of types of war. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to legitimate military targets. While some scholars see war

1.
The War by Tadeusz Cyprian (1949), a photograph in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw showing ruins of Warsaw's Napoleon Square in the aftermath of World War II.

2.
Mural of War (1896), by Gari Melchers

3.
Ruins of Guernica (1937). The Spanish Civil War was one of Europe's bloodiest and most brutal civil wars.

4.
Japanese samurai attacking a Mongol ship, 13th century

Kshatriya
–
Kshatriya is one of the four varna of the Hindu society. The Sanskrit term kshatriya is used in the context of Vedic society wherein members organised themselves into four classes, brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, traditionally, the kshatriya constituted the ruling and military elite. Their role was to protect society by fighting in wartime and governi

1.
Gautama Buddha was born into a kshatriya family.

Chivalry
–
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is a code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood which developed between 1170 and 1220. The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries, the term chivalry derives from the Old French term chevalerie, which can be translated to horse soldiery. Gauti

1.
Konrad von Limpurg as a knight being armed by his lady in the Codex Manesse (early 14th century)

2.
Reconstruction of a Roman cavalryman (equites)

3.
Knights of Christ by Jan van Eyck

4.
Depiction of chivalric ideals in Romanticism (Stitching the Standard by Edmund Blair Leighton: the lady prepares for a knight to go to war)

Moksha
–
Moksha, also called vimoksha, vimukti and mukti, is a term in Hinduism and Hindu philosophy which refers to various forms of emancipation, liberation, and release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, in its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha refers to freedom from ignorance, self-realiza

1.
Two Hindu sadhus near Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Usually sadhus live by themselves, on the fringes of society, and spend their days in their pursuit of moksha.

2.
Gajendra Moksha (pictured) is a symbolic tale in Vaishnavism. The elephant Gajendra enters a lake where a crocodile Huhu clutches his leg and becomes his suffering. Despite his pain, he constantly remembers God Vishnu. God liberates him. Gajendra symbolically represents man, Huhu represents sins and the lake is saṃsāra.

3.
In myths and temples of India and Bali Indonesia, Sarasvati appears with swan. Sarasvati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning and creative arts, while swan is a symbol of spiritual perfection, liberation and moksa. The symbolism of Sarasvati and the swan is that knowledge and moksa go together.

Sanjaya
–
Sanjaya or Sanjaya Gavalgani is a character from the ancient Indian poetic epic Mahābhārata. In Mahabharata—an epic poem of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas—the blind king Dhritarashtra is the father of the principals of the Kaurava side, before this great war broke out, Sanjaya had gone to Yudhishtira as the Ambassador of Kauravas to nego

1.
The blind king Dhrtarastra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans

2.
Books (parva s)

Dhritarashtra
–
In the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra is the King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epics climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitraviryas first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Veda Vyasa, Dhritarashtra was blind from birth, and became father to one hundred sons by his wife Gandhari, with Yuyutsu. These children, including th

1.
The blind king Dhrtarastra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans

Bhakti
–
Bhakti literally means attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith or love, devotion, worship, piety. Bhakti, in Hinduism, refers to devotion and the love of a god or a representational god by a devotee. Bhakti in Indian religions is emotional devotionalism, particularly to a god or to spiritual ideas. The term also refers to a movement

1.
Bhatti (Bhakti in Pali) at a Buddhist temple, Tibet. Chanting during Bhatti Puja (devotional worship) is often a part of the Theravada Buddhist tradition.

Yoga
–
Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga, the chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited

Jnana yoga
–
Jñāna yoga or Jnanamarga refers to the path of knowledge, also known as the path of self realization in Hinduism. It is one of the three classical paths or types of yoga for the liberation of the Atman, the jnanamarga ideas are discussed in ancient and medieval era Hindu scriptures and texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The jnana y

Bhakti yoga
–
Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on the cultivation of love and devotion toward God. It has been defined as a practice of devotion toward God, solely motivated by the sincere, loving desire to please God, the origins of Bhakti can be seen in the upanishads, specifically the Shvetashvatara Upanishad. The

2.
A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating

Karma yoga
–
Karma yoga, or the Yoga of action is a form of yoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the three paths to realization, karma yoga is the process of achieving perfection in selfless action, Karma Yoga is primarily the practice of selfless service to humanity whereby a spiritual seeker attempts to

2.
Bronze statue representing the discourse of Krishna and Arjuna, in Kurukshetra

Raja Yoga
–
Rāja yoga is a term with a variety of meanings depending on the context. In Sanskrit texts Raja yoga refers to the goal of yoga, the term also became a modern retronym, when in the 19th-century Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Since then, Rāja yoga has variously referred to as yoga, royal union, sahaj marg, cla

1.
A statue of a man in yoga posture (Kashmir, India).

Samkhya
–
Samkhya or Sankhya is one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy. It is most related to the Yoga school of Hinduism, Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepts three of six pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include pratyakṣa, anumāṇa and śabda, sometimes described as one of the rationalis

1.
King Amsuman and the yogic sage Kapila.

2.
Elements in Samkhya philosophy

Bhagavata
–
In Hinduism a Bhagavata, is a devotee, worshipper or follower of Bhagavan namely God in His personal aspect. The form of worship is called bhakti which has the meaning of adoration, bhagavat or Bhagavan means the Adorable One, whereas Bhagavata indicates a worshiper of the Adorable One. It also refers to a devoted to worship of Krishna. According t

1.
Flow chart showing the growth of Bhagavatism

Purusha Sukta
–
Purusha sukta is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the Cosmic Being. One version of the suktam has 16 verses,15 in the meter. Some scholars state that verses of Purusha sukta are later interpolations to the Rigveda. The Purusha sukta gives a description of the unity of the universe. It presents the nature of Purusha or the cosmic

1.
The first two verses of the Purusha sukta, with Sayana 's commentary. Page of Max Müller's Rig-Veda-sanhita, the Sacred Hymns of the Brahmans (reprint, London 1974).

Yajna
–
Yajna literally means sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering, and refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda, the tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to

1.
A yajna being performed.

2.
A Yajna Vedi (square altar) with Samagri (offerings) on left, and a Yajna in progress (right).

4.
A miniature illustration of a falcon bird Athirathram yajna altar built using the square principle.

Vedanta
–
Vedanta or Uttara Mīmāṃsā is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. It represents the divergent philosophical views of more than 10 schools—all developed on the basis of a textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi. The Prasthanatrayi is a term for the Principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras. Vedanta does not stand for one comprehe

1.
Vallabhacharya

2.
Shankaracharya

Brahman
–
In Hinduism, Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient and it is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a concept is the single binding unity behin

1.
Impact of a drop of water in water, a common analogy for Brahman and the Ātman

2.
Swan (Hansa, हंस) is the symbol for Brahman-Atman in Hindu iconography.

Advaita Vedanta
–
Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the soul is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality, Advaita Vedanta traces its roots in the oldest Upanishads. It relies on three textual sources called the Prasthanatra

1.
Statue of Gaudapada, the grand guru of Adi Shankara and the first historical proponent of Advaita Vedanta, also believed to be the founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math

2.
Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904)

3.
(Vidyashankara temple) at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Shringeri

Vishishtadvaita
–
Vishishtadvaita, the philosophy of the Sri Sampradaya, is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas, primarily the word Vedanta stood for Upanishads, afterwords, its denotation widened to include all thoughts developed out of the Upanishads. VishishtAdvaita is a school of

Indian independence movement
–
The Indian independence movement encompassed activities and ideas aiming to end the East India Company rule and the British Indian Empire in the Indian subcontinent. The movement spanned a total of 190 years, the early part of the 20th century saw a more radical approach towards political self-rule proposed by leaders such as the Lal, Bal, Pal and

1.
Imperial entities of India

2.
Robert Clive with Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey

3.
After the defeat of Tipu Sultan, most of South India was now either under the company's direct rule, or under its indirect political control

4.
Statue of Bakshi Jagabandhu, the leader of Paika Rebellion

Bal Gangadhar Tilak
–
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and an independence activist. He was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement, the British colonial authorities called him Father of the Indian unrest. He was also conferred with the title of Lokmanya, which means accepted by

1.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak लोकमान्य टिळक

Mahatma Gandhi
–
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights, the honorific Mahatma —applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa—is now used worldwide. In India, he is also called Bap

Hindu texts
–
Hindu texts are manuscripts and historic literature related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as Hindu scriptures and these include the Vedas and the Upanishads. There are two classifications of Hindu texts, Shruti – that which is heard, and Smriti – tha

1.
Manuscripts of 18th-century Hindu texts in Sanskrit and in a regional language (below).

3.
A 19th century manuscript of the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita.

Vedas
–
The Vedas are a large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means not of a man, superhuman and impersonal, authorless. Vedas are also called śruti literature, distinguishing th

1.
Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari

Rigveda
–
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. The text is a collection of 1,028 hymns and 10,600 verses, a good deal of the language is still obscure and many hymns as a consequence seem unintelligible. The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities, for each dei

1.
Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century. After a scribal benediction ("śrīgaṇéśāyanamaḥ;; Aum(3);;"), the first line has the opening words of RV.1.1.1 (agniṃ; iḷe; puraḥ-hitaṃ; yajñasya; devaṃ; ṛtvijaṃ). The Vedic accent is marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.

Yajurveda
–
The Yajurveda is the Veda of prose mantras. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajna fire, Yajurveda is one of the four Vedas, and one of the scriptures of Hinduism. The exact century of Yajurvedas compositio

2.
Ashvamedhika parva of the Hindu epic Mahabharata describes the year long ceremony according to Yajurveda.

Atharvaveda
–
The Atharva is the knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas, the procedures for everyday life. The text is the fourth Veda, but has been an addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. The Atharvaveda is composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and it is a collection of 730 hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books. About a sixth of the Atharvaveda text

1.
The Chandogya Upanishad describes natural phenomena such as a thunderstorm as a form of chant.

2.
Ahimsa - non-violence in action, words and thoughts - is considered the highest ethical value and virtue in Hinduism. The Chandogya Upanishad makes one of the earliest mentions of this ethical code in section 3.17. Above: non-violence sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reutersward.

3.
The Chandogya Upanishad in 7th chapter discusses progressive meditation as a means to Self-knowledge.

1.
Bhagavata Purana manuscripts from 16th- to 19th-century, in Sanskrit (above) and in Bengali language.

4.
The Bhagavata Purana has been a significant text to Bhakti movement and to the culture of India. Dance and theatre arts such as Kathakali (left), Kuchipudi (middle) and Odissi (right) portray legends from the Purana.

1.
Rama with Sita on the throne, with their children Lava and Kusha on their laps. Behind the throne, Lakshmana, Bharat and Shatrughna stand. Hanuman bows to Rama before the throne. Valmiki is to the left.

2.
Scene Ramayana, Gupta art, National Museum, New Delhi.

3.
Rama seated with Sita, fanned by Lakshmana, while Hanuman pays his respects.

2.
Horse-drawn chariot carved onto the mandapam of Airavateswarar temple, Darasuram (left), c.a. 12th century CE. The chariot and its wheel (right) are so finely sculpted that they include even the faintest details

4.
The Rath Jatra in the Grand Avenue at the Jagannath Temple, Puri, 2007